Someday, Hold Me Close To You
by Reiko Mars
Summary: Minako's taken a whole month off from touring just to hang out with her old senshi and the friends she never really got to have. But there's one imparticular she's interested in getting reconnected to. PGSM ReiMinako
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM or any of the characters. It's all the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Bandai. But mostly Naoko-san.

This is a shojo-ai story, so if you're not a fan of girl/girl, turn back now!

Usagi, Ami, Makoto, and Minako sat around the table in their "specialized" chairs, located in their old room in Crown Karaoke. It'd stayed clean over the years only because Makoto broke the news to Motoki it'd been there the whole time, but he hadn't noticed. He was baffled for the most part, but he diligently made sure to keep the room clean, even though he technically didn't work at Crown anymore. He and Mamoru owned it together, but they'd long since hired a few employees to work there. Motoki had to make sure his wife, Makoto, had enough help at her own shop, only a few blocks away from Crown.

Minako remembered the few times she'd been there. For the most part, she was having screaming matches with Rei, disagreements with Rei, and of course, the going away party Rei herself arranged for Minako. Even though she hadn't really ever officially jumped into friendships with the senshi, she felt at home in that room. As if her being an idol didn't matter—well, except when it came to Usagi. Sometimes, Usagi would suddenly realize who she was sitting next to (usually happened every 10 minutes or so), and then scream, "MINAKO-CHAN!"

But as much as she wanted to deny it, it felt incredibly empty in that room as well. Perhaps the others didn't feel it as intensely as she did. But staring at the red chair, which had no occupant, she sure did.

"Mars," Minako muttered, catching the attention of her fellow and former senshi. Usagi, with her huge curious eyes, was the first to speak.

"Minako-chan?"

Minako snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at the odango-clad girl.

"Hai?" she replied simply. Makoto and Ami exchanged looks.

"You said 'Mars'," Ami spoke up, her voice characteristically soft. Minako gulped nervously, but kept her cool composure.

"Oh." Had she really been thinking out loud?

"I was just wondering," she began, letting her eyes wander down to a photograph, "where did this picture of she and I come from?"

"Oh, that one?" Usagi grinned and stood up, clasping her hands behind her back. She began pacing around the table, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Manager-san gave it to Rei-chan after the game show. At first she refused to accept it, but after much convincing from he and I, she gladly took it! Well, sort of... You remember that day, right Minako-chan?"

Minako smiled fondly.

"Mm."

_"To be honest," _she thought to herself, _"I think about the day all the time. It was probably one of the best—no, THE best day of my life... Or rather the life before my illness got the best of me. It was the first time I had real...friends."_

_"A best friend." _Her conscience added.

She could see the day as clear as if she were looking through glasses. The image of Rei's rare, full grin flashed in front of her eyes. She'd never again found a feeling like that. That feeling of making Rei happy, and it seeming like she'd taken all the pain away from those dark, mysterious brown eyes. The way Rei, in turn, wiped away every doubt, every sense of loneliness away from Minako's chocolate brown ones.

"He gave her two pictures," Usagi's voice broke through and brought Minako back to reality. She turned her eyes back to Usagi.

"She donated one to the photo book here" Usagi pointed to the book. "And kept the other one for herself." She suddenly seemed confused. "He didn't give you one, Minako-chan?"

"Honestly," Makoto's voice chimed in. "I've never seen Rei look so happy in a picture. In all of our group photos, we had to tickle her or get Usagi to pull on her cheeks just to get her to smile. You can imagine the look we got for that one."

They all let out a small chuckle. Makoto sighed.

"She's disappeared to Kyoto once again. Constantly busying herself with shrine duties."

"In the last letter I received from her, she said she was searching for sponsorship," Ami said. "She's gone to Kyoto to ask the head priest there if he'd be able to do the job, or at least recommend willing and able donators."

"And we all know," Makoto said, leaning back into her chair. "Coming from Rei, who _never_ asks for anything, most of all help, this must mean a lot."

Minako's eyes wandered down to the photo of she and Rei. An idea sprang to her mind.

"What if I sponsored her?"

Within a millisecond, all eyes were on her. Makoto sat forward in her chair, an unsure look on her face.

"Minako-chan..." Ami squeaked. Minako watched as the girls' eyes wandered to the photo book.

"Rei-chan wouldn't really be..." Ami trailed off.

"For that," Makoto finished.

"She's a very proud person. And if _you_ ever offered that to her, she'd probably give you the worst glare you've ever gotten and then stomp off."

Minako raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's too proud to accept my help, but she'll run all the way to Kyoto to beg some priest for money? That doesn't make sense, Ami-chan."

"What Ami is trying to say is that Rei would rather drop dead and then burn in Hell before taking _anything_ from you."

Makoto hadn't meant for that to come out so cold, but it was the truth. And the truth hurt. Minako herself knew that better than anyone.

The room was silent for a few moments before anyone said anything.

"I think," Usagi said, a smile spreading over her lips. "You're someone very special to Rei-chan. But she's not exactly sure how to act about it. She's constantly living in fear she'll find someone who she cares for and opens up to, just to have them leave. She trusts Mako-chan, Ami-chan, and myself, but we don't compare to you. She has so much care, trust, and-" Usagi paused. She raised her eyebrows and brought a finger to her lips. The other girls were practically falling off the edge of their seats, surprised by this new and wise Usagi. But then Usagi shrugged.

"Umm... I dunno! But you get the point!"

Ami shook her head while Makoto sighed.

"And here I thought she'd grown some brain cells."

"Hey!" Usagi pouted. "That's a very Rei-thing to say! Mako-chan, I thought you were nice!"

Makoto and Ami burst out into laughter while Minako just smiled. She never thought she'd be dwelling on something Usagi of all people said. Did Rei really think of her in that sort of way? Did Rei really trust her...that much?

"Minako-chan!" Usagi shouted through the stage microphone. Minako looked over at her.

"Would you mind doing some karaoke with your number 1 fan? No matter what Naru-chan says, I've been your number 1 fan longer! Eleven years! ELEVEN YEARS!" Usagi hopped up and down for emphasis.

Ami and Makoto giggled and sat back, ready to enjoy the show they were sure Minako wouldn't refuse.

Minako gave one of her charming smiles and nodded.

Rei slid the door to the rented room given to her by the head priestess closed. It'd been a long day, and now the only thing she desperately needed was a good 4 or 5 hours of sleep. She herself knew that wasn't nearly enough, but it was the best she could get.

As she began to unfold her cot, something caught her eyes. It was a letter on the small desk by the massive window. Usually she'd ignore it and read it over breakfast, but something just wouldn't and couldn't let it go.

She dropped the cot onto the floor and headed over to the old, wooden table. The envelope was a crisp beige color, signifying it was from Ami.


	2. Cross My Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or PGSM. They're property of Bandai and Naoko-san.

A part of her grew excited, while another part felt anxious. Getting letters from the full-fledged doctor was _always_ a treat, but another one so soon? It worried her. Was she alright? Was it something to do with Makoto? Usagi?

_"Or...does it have to do with **her**?"_

Rei felt her stomach turn over the moment that possibility popped into her mind. She knew the letter was probably concerning something else. After all, the idol hadn't bothered to visit any of them since Makoto's wedding. There was only a short letter every now and then.

"Which," Rei spoke aloud, "she probably sends to all of us."

_"Like I'm anything special..."_

"Stop it!" she shouted at herself. "I don't care if I am or am not. I'm not special to anyone, and I don't really care about that anymore."

Her mind flashed to a happy moment with her mother before she'd passed away, and then the special 'meeting' between she and Venus. It was the day Venus had humiliated her and practically _forced_ her into that 'Naoko' outfit. Even worse, she'd made her utter the word Rei swore she'd never say again...

Kupi.

Rei shook her head furiously, her hair flying all about.

"Right, I should just get on with the letter and be thankful Usagi didn't write it. Kami-sama knows she cannot write."

She grabbed the letter before plopping herself down onto the floor, sitting Indian style. She tore the envelope open slowly, fatigue catching the best of her. She pulled the letter from it finally, and pushed her light brown, longish bangs away from her eyes.

_Rei-chan,_

_I know this letter has arrived earlier than expected, but it's because I have wonderful news. Hopefully you will be pleased with it as well. Our very own Aino Minako has returned to Japan for a whole month! She still has a bit of work to do of course, but she's promised to make as much time for us as she possibly can, and I believe she's true to her word._

Rei's normal scowl deepened, and her eyes narrowed as much as they could. She hesitated in reading the rest of the letter. She didn't care if Minako was back in Japan. The thought of the idol being in the same country actually sickened _and_ infuriated her. Ami knew of the tension between the two, so why was she rubbing it in Rei's face that they were all together, without her!

"Iie. Ami-chan isn't 'rubbing it in my face'. She's simply...letting me know what's going on over there in Tokyo. She likes when everyone is together. I know that."

Her shoulders slumped in mental defeat. She hated the fact she still acted like such an adolescent when it came to such small things... But that was just it. To her, this was a very BIG thing.

_Rei-chan, I bet your fuming right now... But Minako-chan returning is very good, you see. All of us together again... Just like when we were senshi. But this time, we'll have Aino-san! I really think you should return to Tokyo, though... If not for Minako, then for Mako-chan, Usagi-chan, and myself. I hope and believe some part of you misses us. We miss you very much... And I'm sure Minako-chan does as well._

_Love,_

_Ami_

Rei grunted. Her fingers clenched the bottom of her jeans.

"Baka." She pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket and flipped it open. She pushed the speed dial for number '2', the shrine.

"Mayumi-san? Yes, it's Hino Rei. Do me a favor and prepare my room. I'll be returning in about half a day."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minako's private cell phone that was meant for her private line went off, waking her from her light slumber. It'd been difficult for her to get to sleep that night, or rather that morning. It was mainly due to Usagi's words from the night before...and Artemis' snoring.

She covered her head with her giant comforter, hoping to get some peace. But the ringing just wouldn't stop. She figured the person, whoever that may be, would've gotten the picture that she wasn't planning on coming to the phone.

Finally, after about fifty rings, Minako sat up and retrieved her phone from the nightstand next to the bed.

"Minako-chan!"

"Usagi," Minako spoke into the phone as she stifled a yawn.

"Gomen!" Usagi shouted even louder, causing Minako to hold the phone about a foot away from her ear. _I still wonder how _she_ was the Princess of the Moon..._

"Did I wake you!" Minako shook her head up and down, but replied with,

"No, I was just getting up. What's going on?"

"Rei-chan's flying into Tokyo International Airport around 6 tonight!"

Minako stopped breathing for a moment.

"Do you wanna come with me and Mako-chan to pick her up?" A baby's coo was heard in the background. Usagi laughed.

"Oh, and chibi-Usa wants to come too!"

"Mars is actually coming back so soon? Could it be...?" Minako whispered to herself, Artemis' head perking up.

"Nani Minako-chan?" Usagi asked, her confusion obvious.

"I-I'm a bit busy... I have a photo shoot around 3. But-"

"Oh, darn!"

"-I think I can make it."

Usagi grinned and danced around with chibi-Usa, who giggled and drooled in response.

"Yay! Then I'll call you back before we leave, okay?"

"Hai." Minako couldn't help but smile at her energetic friend and one-time Princess, even if she couldn't see her. She admired Usagi for having such a care-free spirit and always a happy outlook on _everything_.

"Bai-bai!"

"Ja."

The line went dead and Minako closed her cell phone. She let herself fall back onto the bed, and nearly on Artemis.

"I'm guessing that was Usagi?" he asked.

"Hai." Artemis waited for Minako to give some more details, but she remained silent.

"And?"

"I'm going with her this evening to pick up Mars from the airport." Artemis climbed onto Minako's stomach.

"You mean Rei?"

Hearing Artemis say _her_ name so casually put an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Was agreeing to go to the airport really a good decision?

"Hai...Rei-san."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Usagi?" Makoto looked over her shoulder and away from her frying pan to the bubbling Usagi and chibi-Usa.

"Of course! It would make Rei _really_ happy, wouldn't it?"

Usagi's grin started to diminish, and now she was wearing a sad half-frown.

"Well... I hope so."

Makoto's shoulders stiffened. Usagi frowning was one thing. Second-guessing herself nowadays? That was another.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rei tapped her foot on the ground. Her arms were crossed. Her expression—pure anger. In short, she was pissed.

"Just like Usagi to be almost an hour late. Baka odango-head."

"Reiiii-chaaaaan!" Came Usagi's high-pitched voice. Rei winced. She lazily looked around a few people, not caring too much if the girl saw her or not. She looked away when Usagi waved at her.

"Rei-chan!" Usagi bent over and held her knees in exhaustion. Rei looked at her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her explanation.

"Gomen ne! I"-pant-"am very late"-pant-"I know. But I had to pick up Mako-chan and"-pant-"Mi-"

"Usagi!" Makoto yelled out, running over to her two friends. She too was out of breath; probably from chasing Usagi.

_"Well, at least I know they made an effort. A very horrible one," _Rei thought to herself. She was going to let a rare genuine smile show, when someone else stopped next to Usagi. A very...unexpected someone.


	3. The Miracle of our Meeting

"Minako-chan," Rei muttered to herself, her mouth slightly hanging open.

Usagi and Makoto looked at each other, and then to Minako, who was smiling.

"Mars."

Rei felt caught off guard by the name, and almost disappointed. Didn't Minako realize they were no longer senshi? That they were no longer needed? That Sailor Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus weren't of any use anymore? Rei wasn't Mars anymore. She was just Hino Rei, just like Minako was no longer Venus, but Aino Minako.

Instantly, internal walls built themselves around her heart. Inside she felt like a teen-ager again. The only defense she had was to act as if nothing bothered her; as if the little insults and smiles Minako had given her over the years meant nothing.

"Why are you here?" she asked, but didn't give Minako time to answer. She turned to look at Usagi, her eyebrows slowly furrowing.

"I thought it was just going to be you and Makoto?" Usagi cowered like a shy child, and opted to hide behind Makoto. Makoto rolled her eyes at her former "princess", but didn't protest.

"You've come back to see Minako, haven't you?"

Rei didn't respond to Makoto's question for a few moments. She wanted to decide how to exactly answer this. Oh, yes, the real reason she'd returned. It wasn't for Minako...it was for Ami-chan! Yeah, that's right!

"Ami-chan wanted me to come back. Venus did not influence my decision."

Rei made sure to make brief eye contact with Minako, wanting to see if her words stung. Unfortunately, Minako hadn't changed at all. She simply stood there, holding her purse strap in the crease of her elbow.

"We've asked you to come back plenty of times. This time has to be different, because this time you _actually_ came back." Rei narrowed her eyes at Makoto and bit her lip.

"I see that it was a mistake." Rei turned on her heel and began walking off when a hand grabbed her arm, the touch bordering on the line of rough. Her eyes widened and she turned to see Minako was the one who'd stopped her. She took a long look at Minako's hand and grimaced, before irately pulling her arm away.

"Don't act like a child, Mars." Minako had to hold back a smirk for Usagi, Makoto, and the rest of the people in the airport's sakes. A huge, public blow-out wouldn't be the best way to start off a vacation now, would it?

She turned away from Rei. "I was hoping you would have grown up. But apparently, you still have the mentality of a 14-year old." Okay, so that wasn't really the best thing to say. Minako mentally scolded herself.

"And you don't, calling me 'Mars'? We're not senshi anymore, _Aino-san_."

Minako wanted to tell Rei that making that adjustment to calling her 'Rei-chan' or even 'Hino-chan' was going to be tough for her. But she knew how ridiculous it sounded; how weak she sounded. Minako had been closer to Rei than anyone, and still, she'd always refer to her as 'Mars', or 'Mars Reiko'.

"We may be needed again one day," she choose to say instead, even though it was a ridiculous excuse.

"We all know our senshi days are over. The past life means nothing now. I don't need you calling me by my senshi name to remind me of it."

Usagi had a revelation all of the sudden. Which past life was Rei really talking about? Sure, they'd (besides Minako) had been dead for less than a day, but in some ways, it was a past life. They all just continued on with it after Usagi returned. Maybe Rei was still hurting from _that_ past life. The life where she'd lost Minako. Perhaps..._that_ was the past life she didn't want to be reminded of.

Usagi felt sympathy for her long-time friend. She knew Rei would never be one to accept it, but she felt it nonetheless. Poor Rei had such a hard time talking to people about how she really felt, unless it was anger.

"Fine. But don't leave. Stay for Usagi-chan and the others. You'll just have to put up with me for a month, and then I'll leave." Minako was now facing Rei again. Rei raised her eyebrow.

"Promise?"

Minako felt her heart sting, but she didn't falter. She gave a small smile.

"I promise."

Rei's stomach jumped up and tied itself in a knot out of disappointment.

_"No," _she thought, _"Out of relief."_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usagi drove in silence, her own ears aching from it. Why wasn't anyone talking! Not even Mako-chan! She'd have to take measures into her own hands.

"So, uh, Minako-chan!"

Minako was jolted out of her daydream it seemed, but her full attention was now on Usagi.

"Hai?"

"When's the new single coming out? I'm really looking forward to it! I made Mamo-chan reserve it and everything!"

"I'd say in about 2 weeks. I'm really happy with it. It's the first time I've ever arranged the music myself. And of course, I wrote the lyrics...like I always do." Minako snuck a quick peek at Rei, whose head was resting on the window.

"Wow! I can't wait!" Usagi let go of the steering wheel to clap, and then car started to swerve. Minako slammed into Rei, and Rei's head smacked the glass. Makoto was used to this however, and she grabbed the steering wheel before anything too dangerous happened.

"Usagi! I thought I told you to wait until you got home to do your little happy-dance!" she yelled. Usagi grinned nervously and took the wheel back from Makoto.

When control was regained over the car, Minako hurriedly slid back to her side of the backseat, away from Rei. Apparently she was too busy rubbing the bump on her forehead to even notice Minako had smashed into her.

"Baka Usagi! Watch the road!" she shouted.

"Gomen (sorry), Rei-chan! Are you alright?" Rei let out an exasperated sigh in response to Usagi's question.

Minako giggled, her laugh lightening up the situation. Usagi laughed too, and Makoto joined in. But Rei, of course, was still as annoyed as ever. Minako allowed her eyes to wander to the priestess, wanting see how much she'd really changed. The sun was almost completely down, but Minako had memorized the way Rei looked from the airport.

Her hair was certainly longer (to the middle of her back), but still had that brown, almost reddish tint. Her bangs were now pushed to the side, giving you a better look at her eyes. Minako had always loved the girl's eyes, both now and in the past life. Her emotions could always be read by the way they flashed across her dark, brown eyes. She no longer had that cherubic baby fat in her cheeks, either. Her face had thinned out, and her body had formed a nice shape as well. Minako thought she'd seen grown-up Rei at Usagi's wedding. Boy, was she wrong.

"_In short, she's gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I bet talent scouts approach her all the time."_ she smirked to herself. _"And I bet she has a few, very nice choice of words to say back to them."_

"What?" Came Rei's obviously irritated voice. Minako swallowed nervously--she'd been caught.

"I was just looking out of your window to see the ocean. Sorry if I bothered you."

"Oh." Rei blushed and turned her head back to the ocean. "It's okay."

Rei waited until Minako started to look out of her own window before letting her eyes scan over the idol.

She didn't look much different from when Rei had seen her at Usagi's wedding. But of course, that wasn't a bad thing. She was _unnaturally_ adorable, and Rei hated that. She didn't like cute things. And Minako happened to be _very_ cute.

Minako's hair was a lighter shade of brown than Rei remembered it to be, but it was still only a bit past her shoulders. Her bangs were side-swept and no longer resting completely on her forehead like before. But like before, her body was unbelievable. Rei came to the conclusion she'd inherited it from Venus, Minako's counterpart. The Goddess of Love and Beauty definitely wouldn't be caught with mediocre looks, that was for sure.

"Are you alright, Rei-chan?" Makoto asked, leaning from her spot in the passenger's side. "You're zoning out." Minako was also looking at Rei now.

Before Rei could turn red, she turned her head back to the window, bumping it in the same exact spot she had earlier.

"Ouch!" Makoto covered her mouth with her hand to keep her laughter in.

Minako knew Rei'd been watching her, but unlike Rei, she decided not to act upon it. Rei was looking at her with civilized eyes for the first since they'd met at the church. Not the, "I want you dead. You disgust me" eyes Minako got every other time.

She watched as Rei sighed angrily against the window, and her shoulders un-tensed.

"Maybe," Minako whispered to herself. "There's still some sort of hope for us."


	4. And That Irreplaceable Time

A/N: Heylo guys! Thanks so much for the reviews. Also, sorry I took a while to update. I just became a Junior and it's keeping me REALLY busy. I hope everyone in this story seems in-character. Rei is my favorite character from the whole Sailor Moon franchise, but I find it really hard to write about her, and the way she acts and feels. I guess because she's so different in PGSM, compared to the anime. It's like she has three different personalities: anime, manga, and live action. Maybe she should think about seeing a therapist.:(

Anyway, on with "Someday, Hold Me Close To You"!

Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape or form, own Sailor Moon/PGSM. It all belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"... and then Chibi-Usa puked ALL over my strawberry pukka candy! I was so upset!" Usagi angrily bit into her steak. She made approving noises while she chewed. The others simply stared at her, mostly out of disgust.

"Usagi-chan... How can you talk about such things while eating?" Ami asked, adjusting her glasses and pushing her plate away from her. Minako and Rei continued with their food, but they weren't eating as vigorously as they had been before.

"And how can you happily eat after explaining all of the colors of chibi-Usa's throw-up?"

With Makoto's question, both Rei and Minako dropped their forks onto their plate and pushed them away as well. Makoto however, even though she came off as being disgusted, kept on eating.

"Well," Usagi began, her mouth full of food. "You get used to it. You'll see what I mean one day, Mako-chan." Makoto smiled nervously and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length, light brown hair, which for once, wasn't tied back into a ponytail.

"I don't know about that Usagi. I'm not so sure about having children...especially this soon."

"Motoki-kun probably wants dozens of children though, right?" Ami questioned. Makoto nodded once.

"Mm. You got that right."

Rei and Minako -who were sitting next to each other- didn't bother to participate in the conversation. Rei was too busy being nervous, and Minako was wondering what was running through Rei's mind. What had made her snap like that? And so soon? They'd been, for the most part, close before. Had everything really changed that much?

"REEEIIII-CHAAAAN!" Usagi exclaimed, causing the startled Rei to bang her knee against the bottom of the table. She winced at the bruise she knew was already forming.

"What, Usagi?"

Usagi wasn't fazed one bit by Rei's annoyed tone.

"When are YOU getting married, huh?" She grinned with a wink. Rei's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights.

"M-marriage? I-I... I'm not sure if I...if I actually want to get married. Not anytime soon, at least..." Rei looked away from the girl's gazes, particularly Minako. Dating and anything of the sort was not exactly Rei's cup of tea. Nor were men. But she couldn't see herself marrying a woman either, so what did that leave her with?

"You should! I need you guys to have kids as quick as you can so chibi-Usa has someone to play with! I can tell," Usagi brought her hands together dramatically, "That she's beginning to grow away from me. She only wants to play with Mamo-chan now! Oh, how can she do this to me? Play with my emotions like that? I'm her mama!"

"Don't worry, Usagi. Motoki and I will have children someday. Just hang on a bit longer," Makoto said.

"...How long?" Usagi asked with wide-eyes.

"About 10 years." Makoto grinned and dodged Usagi's playful smack.

"Mako-chan! Stop teasing me!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the girls headed out of the restaurant, whatever tension there was in the air about two hours ago, had lightened up drastically. Sure, it'd taken a teensy-weensy bit of alcohol, but it was all in good fun.

"Ami-chan, are you sure you don't want to take a taxi with Mako-chan and I?" Usagi asked. Ami smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure. I only had half a glass of wine. I'm perfectly fine."

"Alright then! How about you, Rei-chan? Minako-chan?"

"No thanks," Rei and Minako chimed in unison. They looked at each other briefly before turning back to Usagi.

"The shrine is only about 4 blocks from here. There would be no point in wasting money," said Rei.

"The same goes for my hotel," Minako spoke up. "I'll see you tomorrow. Give me a call on my private line. But not at 6 in the morning, like I know you have a habit of doing."

"Gomen!" Usagi clasped her hands together and lowered her head. Minako smiled.

"It's okay."

Usagi grinned. Before she got into the taxi Makoto had so valiantly caught for them, she exchanged hugs with Ami, Rei, and Minako. She shouted promises that she would make sure she'd call them (and not too early), and that they'd all get together for a welcoming party for both Rei and Minako soon.

As they drove off, Rei sighed.

"Always the same Usagi, no matter what."

"But that's what draws us to her. She never changes. She's always there to make us feel welcomed and loved," Ami said in reply. Rei nodded with a faint smile.

"Goodnight, then?" Ami smiled and gave Rei a light hug and then did the same to Minako.

"Ja." The two remaining ex-soldiers watched as Ami got into her black sports car, and then drove off.

Minako reached into her pink bag and pulled out a black hat that matched her outfit, which consisted of a black mini-skirt, a black t-shirt, and a black and white hoody, not to mention white leg warmers that went with her black and white converse. Rei watched in amusement as Minako adjusted her hat to make sure her hair wouldn't become too messed up by it.

"So where's the hotel?" she asked. Minako shrugged.

"I think right around the corner, but I'm not completely sure."

"Can't you just call one of your minions to come and pick you up?" Minako began walking slowly, Rei following her pace.

"I could," she said, a smile slowly creeping onto her glossy lips. "But it's such a nice night." Rei looked up at the moon.

"And you and I also haven't really gotten to talk as just Rei and Minako for way too long," Minako added, making sure to look away from Rei's general direction. Rei of course, looked at Minako to see if what she'd just heard was correct. As just...Rei and Minako?

She smiled.

"So are you free tomorrow, Mars Reiko-san?"

Rei frowned at Minako's nickname for her, but she decided against picking a fight... For now at least.

"I have a few things to take care of at the shrine until about 2 in the afternoon. But after that, I'm completely free."

"Mm," Minako replied. "That's nice."

Rei cocked an eyebrow. 'That's nice'? What the Hell did _that_ mean?

She hesitated in asking the next question, but went for it anyway.

"You weren't...going to ask me to, you know...spend some time together or something?" Minako widened her eyes and gave Rei a mock-surprised expression.

"Oh! Was I supposed to?"

Rei reddened in embarrassment and looked towards the street.

"Um... I-I guess not..."

Minako giggled and playfully shoved Rei, who grunted in reply.

"What's so funny, Minako?"

Minako examined Rei's features. Yes, she'd seen this look _plenty_ of times before. The perfect, evil scowl, eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows furrowed. This was the look she usually gave youma, and of course sometimes Minako. Personally, Minako herself found it humorous.

"Oh, Hino. Calm down, will you? Of course I was going to ask if you wanted to get together tomorrow. Still high-strung, I see."

"If I do recall," Rei chimed in, "you were worse than me back in our senshi days."

"Bringing up the past, huh? I thought you were against that?" Minako raised a questioning eyebrow. Rei scoffed and crossed her arms as the two rounded the corner.

"Whatever. Where's your hotel anyway?" Minako stopped walking, as did Rei.

"I thought it was down here, but I guess it's not. Maybe one more block?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "What, am I your escort now?"

"I didn't ask you to walk me anywhere. If I remember correctly, you followed me. _Just_ like back in our senshi days," Minako said with a smirk. "Well, it was more like you were stalking me. Usually I can get rid of the everyday stalkers with ease, but you were a tricky one; not your everyday-stalker."

"I wasn't stalking you!" Rei exclaimed, catching even Minako off-guard. A few people eyed them strangely, but most people just ignored them. Rei again grew red when she took notice of the people walking by them. She shook her head and then shrugged.

"I just wanted to discuss some things with you. That's all," she whispered loudly.

"Right. I bet, Hino." Minako sighed dramatically as they started walking again. "You just couldn't resist my charm and grace. No one can. I understand."

"Usagi told me about when you backed into that pole that had just been painted blue. I wouldn't exactly call that graceful, _Aino_." It was now Rei's turn to smirk defiantly. Minako frowned.

"Whatever."

The two continued down the street in silence. But thankfully, it wasn't really an awkward silence—more like a comfortable one than anything. The two-for the most part-had talked to each other like normal human beings for the first time in years. Minako, though she didn't show it, couldn't have been any happier. She always knew they'd make good, even great friends. Their family life as teen-agers wasn't exactly the same, but they did relate in some things, like loneliness, and the big one: stubbornness.

_"In some sick way," _Minako thought to herself. _"That brain tumor brought us closer than we probably would have been, had I not been sick. I wasn't always so miserable and serious when I was younger. I was a lot like Usagi, actually. But when I found out I had that tumor, and then the whole senshi bit... Well, I guess you could say I had to grow up faster than the average teen-ager. I had to understand it, understand that I could, and probably would die. Understand that I couldn't be close to anyone anymore, because if I was, I'd only hurt them. But... I couldn't stay away from her. She was, to me, something different. Not like the people I grew up with. She had a taste of the real-world. Her mother's death, her father abandoning her. But she survived all of that, and just lived life. That's what drew me to her, what made me admire her so much. She was so brave. So strong."_

Minako knew she'd probably never tell Rei any of that, maybe because she was too proud to. But then again...maybe one day she would. She wondered if Rei would be surprised, or just shrug and dismiss it, and then mock her later.

"Is that it?" Rei's voice cut into Minako's daydream, and she snapped back into reality. She looked over to where Rei was pointing, and surely, that was the hotel. It was so high, it probably went on for miles. Luckily for Minako, she was staying in one of the lower rooms. She didn't feel like standing in an elevator for the next twenty years of her life.

"Oh, yes. That's it."

Another silence washed over the two, and this time it _was_ awkward. Rei was staring at her shoes as they scraped against the cement, and Minako glanced at her nails.

"Well... You can call me anytime after 2. I still have the same line, so..." Rei cleared her throat.

"Alright. I have some small work to do as well at the studio, so expect my call around 3 or 4. Don't hold your breath, though. Sometimes it takes longer than expected."

"I wasn't planning to. And don't be offended if I miss your call. I won't be carrying my phone around with me, so if I get your call, I get it." Minako nodded at Rei. She was playing over in her head when Rei had so willingly hugged the other girls. If Minako were to even try to get that close to her, would Rei recoil? Would she accept it like she did with the others?

Well, she was known for being quite impulsive.

She leant over, and wrapped her arms around Rei. Like expected, Rei went completely stiff. Minako was going to pull away when suddenly, Rei relaxed and brought her arms up and lightly brought them around Minako.

_"It's like she's hugging a cloud. She's barely touching me." _Minako said to herself in her mind. _"Oh, well. I guess it's better than her pushing me off, or better yet, clobbering me in the face."_

Minako could have sworn they'd been standing there for hours, but really, it'd only been 30 seconds. She wished it would've been hours. She hadn't been this happy since she'd won her first musical award in America.

As they broke apart, Rei made sure to avoid eye contact. Minako however, couldn't help but grin.

"Ja then, Hino."

"Mm," Rei mumbled, looking very much like the awkward teen she once was. "Oyasumi nasai (goodnight)."


	5. I Treasure Them All

A/N: I hope this chapter isn't too boring. :-( As soon as I have this crazy assignment for English done, I can write a lot more. :) I promise the next chapter will be a lot more exciting!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, I was hoping to have it out in about a week. I wanted to surprise my friend with an early copy of it." Minako said to her manager, who sucked his teeth in response.

"Minako," he began, and Minako braced herself for another one of his pointless lectures. She even yawned for emphasis.

"You know how I just _adore_ your friends-especially that Mars Reiko girl- but there are no exceptions. Not for _anyone_. Other fans will grow jealous if they find out and think you don't care about them. We can't have that, now can we?"

Minako wasn't in the mood for battle today. She was way too tired to even think of witty comebacks. Once again, Artemis' incessant snoring had kept her awake, but so had the memory of Rei's embrace. She was so...warm. So comfortable in every way imaginable. When they hugged, Minako felt a sense of nostalgia. But why? They'd never hugged before, let alone been that close...

"Okay, manager-san. But I still want it out a week earlier—for _everyone_." Minako turned away from her manager and headed straight for the door. She knew if she stood there any longer he'd keep whining and bickering, mostly just so he could say he did something other than sit and file his nails.

_"Ehh... He's not so bad," _Minako thought to herself. _"He's always there when I need cheering up, just like Artemis. Except he's more...human and I suppose 'feminine' than Artemis. But in all reality, I wouldn't want him any other way."_

She took a look at her watch. It read 1:30.

"Only a half hour more and I can call her," she whispered to herself, a smile running over her lips.

_"And don't be offended if I miss your call. I won't be carrying my phone around with me, so if I get your call, I get it."_

Minako's smile fell short and was instead replaced by a frown.

"Maybe I should make her wait, then. If she won't really be anticipating my call, then there's no harm in waiting a few hours more."

She walked out to the small, black car waiting for her, a trace of victory in her stride.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"It feels late... Why hasn't she called me yet?"_ Rei looked at her cell phone for the time. She narrowed her eyes.

_"It's already 4:30! Doesn't she realize that I'm impatient!"_

She looked to the front yard of the shrine. It was COMPLETELY spotless. She'd been up since 7 in the morning, and had run her broom over all of the stairs leading up to the shrine, the entrance, and the whole inside of the shrine. She'd even tried sweeping the sidewalk, but when she started getting strange looks from the businessmen on their way to work, as well as just plain passer-by's, she decided to give up on that one.

"I suppose it's my fault she hasn't called yet. I was kind of rude to her about it..."

_"And don't be offended if I miss your call. I won't be carrying my phone around with me, so if I get your call, I get it."_

"She wouldn't make me wait purposely, would she? No, she's not _that_ immature."

"I guess you've figured out my plan then, huh Hino-san?" came a high and melodic voice from the stairs.

Rei turned to see Minako stepping over the last step of the shrine stairs, a triumphant smile plastered on her always glossy lips. Sometimes Rei wondered how many bottles of lip gloss Minako went through each month...

"What are you doing here? I thought you said that you would call me." Rei crossed her arms and turned her eyes to the big sakura tree beside the garden.

Minako could tell Rei was embarrassed by the way her eyebrows were twitching, and the way her lips formed a perfect line. She'd won this small, secret battle, that was for sure.

"Well, I figured since you weren't going to carry around your phone-which was a _complete_ lie-" Minako pointed to the cell phone in Rei's hand. "-I'd just stop over to pick you up."

Rei rose her eyebrow and uncrossed her arms.

"'Pick me up'? Where are we going?"

"You'll see. It's a surprise." Rei sighed.

"I should expect that from you. You, Aino Minako, are just one big ball of surprises. But I'm not going unless you tell me where this place is, and why we are going." Minako half-laughed and put her hands on her hips.

"Nope!"

"Then I refuse to go," Rei said.

"I have bodyguards, you know. They pay heed to my every whim, and if I wanted them to, they could pick you up, throw you over their shoulder, and kidnap you. You wouldn't refuse then, now would you?" Minako asked, not even flinching at Rei's cold, hard stare.

"You wouldn't." The priestess scoffed.

"Well... I do know some Kung Fu. It's my exercise routine so I don't gain weight. _I_ could actually pick you up and carry you out if I wanted to."

Rei seemed somewhat shocked, but Minako burst out into a fit of laughter at the mental image of her actually kidnapping Rei. Sure, the idol did know some Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do, but taking down Rei? She'd need some mental preparation for that.

"Just trust me, okay? I think you'll enjoy where we're going."

"No," Rei answered flatly. Minako was getting agitated now.

"I'm not going to get on my knees and beg, if that's what you think I'll do."

Rei smirked.

"Any normal person would want to know where they're going, Minako. You're acting as if I'm being irrational, when really, you're the one being just that."

"I'll make sure not to plan anything special for you ever again, then. You're always so miserable and grumpy anyway." Rei furrowed her eyebrows.

"Don't expect to come to my temple to insult me and then get away with it."

Minako sighed.

"I didn't come here for this. I thought we could actually go out and have fun, like normal 20-something year old girls. But apparently everything always has to be a battle for you. Then again, I couldn't expect anything less from the goddess of Mars, now could I?"

Minako turned to leave when Rei grabbed her arm, much like the way Minako had grabbed Rei's back at the airport. But unlike Rei, Minako didn't pull away.

"I'm...sorry, I just- I'll go. But I have to get changed first. You can come inside if you'd like," Rei said softly, this time with a genuine smile. Minako wanted to hug the girl again like she had the night before. They were so close to each other... Minako could smell the jasmine incense all over Rei, and it was completely intoxicating. It was making her feel like she should do something more, something more besides hug her. The next best thing of course, would be to kiss her. But...she couldn't. That'd be crossing the line BIG TIME. She knew her boundaries, and for that day at least, she didn't have any plans to step over them.

Meanwhile, Rei was having some 'unusual' thoughts as well.

"_Why is she just...staring at me? Do I...Do I have something on my face?"_

"Minako? Are you alright?" Rei asked out loud, her grip on Minako's arm tightening. The girl seriously looked like she was about to faint.

"Oh," she muttered. Her eyelashes fluttered as she snapped out of her trance.

"Yes, I'll wait inside. Thanks."

"_Wow..."_ Minako took another glance around Rei's room. The priestess had so many things in that room, but everything was diversified and neat. There were tons of books on just about every topic (there were even quite a few manga), cupboards, cupboards, and more cupboards of incense, incense holders, and incense mixing bowls. The girl also had a wall full of pictures. Quite a few of them were from back in their teen-age days, when the senshi had been assembled. Minako felt a sense of loneliness creeping upon her as she scanned the pictures of all of 'them' together, smiling. Something she never really got to have.

"_But that's why I'm here. To get back the friends I was destined to have. Our friendships were all decided in the past life."_

As she continued looking over the pictures, she noticed a picture in the middle, which was kept in a frame unlike the others which were simply tacked onto the bulletin board nailed to the wall. It was the picture Usagi mentioned the night she'd arrived at Crown. _So it was true._

"_He gave her two pictures. She donated one to the photo book here" Usagi pointed to the book. "And kept the other one for herself."_

"And it's framed," Minako whispered. The loneliness that had been threatening to engulf her earlier suddenly faded away, and now all that remained was a sense of utter content. It may have been the only picture of the two on Rei's wall, but it was the only framed one. Minako couldn't help but feel inimitable and proud.

Her eyes wandered down to the low table near Rei's bedside. On the table was Rei's cell phone, a small plant, and another framed picture. She leant down to get a better view of it. By the look of it, it was Rei with her family when she around 4 or 5, maybe even 6. She looked so uncharacteristically happy, but yet the picture wouldn't seem right without her smile. Leaning over behind her was probably her deceased mother. The two looked so much alike when they smiled, it was almost frightening. Next to them, or rather a foot away from them, stood a man in a business suit, his hands clasped together at his waist. He wasn't exactly glowering, but he wasn't grinning like his wife or daughter either. Yes, Minako could see where Rei got her stare from. Minako squinted her eyes to see if the crease she'd imagined by the man was really there or not. It was.

"It looks like it's been folded back a bunch of times."

"My father, the politician." Minako stood to her full height and turned around to see Rei leaning against the doorframe, now dressed in a white, long-sleeved t-shirt and dark green cargo pants.

"You look very much like both of your parents. Your mother was...is very pretty," Minako spoke, trying to be careful with her words. Rei smiled.

"Yeah, she is. She was so beautiful, both on the inside and the outside. Too bad I'm so much like my father. I'd be like a mix of Ami-chan and Usagi-chan had I turned out like Mama. I'm not so sure _how_ those two could mix, but... If they could, that's her."

"I'm glad you're the way you are," Minako replied. "Ami and Usagi are great, but the senshi needed someone like you, even if you are incredibly hard-headed and competitive." Rei half-laughed and shrugged.

"I'm only fiercely competitive when _you_ challenge me. Otherwise, I'm average."

"Why me?" Minako already knew what Rei's response would be, but she had to hear it for herself.

"Because you're the only one who pisses me off so much."

"I'm honored, really. Now let's go." Minako grabbed Rei's hand and pulled her toward the door.

"I need my cell phone," Rei said, doing her best to escape from Minako's death grip on her hand. "Someone here at the shrine might need me."

"Not tonight, Mars Reiko-san. If I of all people am taking off from work, then you sure as Hell can too."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I thought idols rode around in limos." Rei examined the car she was in, and took notice of how small it was. This was the complete opposite of what she expected celebrities to travel around in. Not to say it wasn't nice; it was, just...different.

"If they want attention drawn to them. Usually only amateur teen-idols ride around in flashy black limos. It's common sense. If you don't want to be noticed, then don't make yourself known." Minako typed away on her laptop as it occasionally threatened to fall from her lap when the driver hit any bumps. But amazingly, Minako was unfazed by it, and simply kept on typing, her fingers moving at an incredible speed.

Sure, Rei used a computer every now and then. It was required at T & A Girl's Private Catholic school Japanese classes sometimes, but to be able to type that fast? And while the laptop is bouncing all over the place? It was unnatural as far as Rei was concerned.

Just then, Rei noticed someone was missing.

"Minako, where's Artemis?" Minako slapped the laptop shut.

"He's over at Usagi's. I knew he'd take all the attention, so I had to drop him off," she joked. Rei smirked.

"So where is this 'mystery place'?"

"Oh, about another 15-20 minutes or so and we'll be there. Driver," Minako leant forward and the driver responded with a "Hai".

"I'm going to put the window up, okay? Buzz me if you need me."

"Yes, Ms. Aino." The driver nodded, and with that, Minako closed the window so that the driver was no longer visible. She slipped the laptop into a black carrying case and then zipped it up and placed it next to her, on the middle seat.

"I was going to ask you to do that," Rei said with a sigh as she leant back onto the comfortable, black leather cushion.

"Do you remember the day we met?" Minako questioned suddenly. Rei sat back up and eyed Minako curiously.

"Of course. I was visiting my mother's grave that day. We passed each other when the priest asked us if we could come and check out that sick Golden Retriever. Why?"

"I was so intrigued with you when you told me you had no clue who I was. I knew you were Sailor Mars, and that was a secret identity. But you didn't even know I was 'Aino Minako, Japan's most famous pop star'."

"I figured it out eventually. I don't watch television or listen to the radio much... I told you that."

"I know, I know. You just made me feel...normal again. But at the same time, like all of my touring was for nothing. So of course, after we met, I booked my schedule completely to make sure something like that would never happen again," Minako stated, resolve present in her voice. Rei shrugged..

"Well, would you have liked me to act like a crazy fan? I think Usagi was/is more than enough of one. You think her obsession would have toned down even the slightest bit since you two are actually friends now, but no. She still hangs your posters on her walls, dances to your music, and buys all of your videos you put out. She's a mother for crying out loud!" Minako grinned and let out a dreamy sigh.

"What can I say? I have that long-lasting effect on people."

"That's for sure," Rei replied sarcastically.

Rei looked over house she and Minako were standing in front of. It looked simple, plain, normal, average—just plain dull. In short, she wondered what the heck they were doing there.

"What is this?"

Minako gave a slight smile in response. She began walking up to the house, signaling Rei to follow. Rei was hesitant, but she went along with it anyway. The two started walking up the small flight of stairs leading to the small patio, where the front door was located. Minako did a rhythmical knock on it, and shuffling was heard. A balding man and his teen-aged daughter greeted the young women happily at the door, causing even more confusion for Rei.

"Aino-san! It's great to see you!" The balding man bowed repeatedly, while his daughter bowed her head once. Minako grinned happily and lead Rei into the house. It was just as simple on the inside as it was on the outside, except there were papers scattered all over the dining room table, as well as every coffee table Rei saw. For some reason, she got a feeling she'd met this man before, but she couldn't really recall where.

"Hino-san, it's great to see you again! You've certainly grown since the last time I saw you all those years ago," the man spoke, a wide grin spread over his face. Rei smiled politely, but it was obvious she was completely clueless.

"Don't you remember helping these people out about 10 years ago, Hino?" Minako asked. Rei looked the man and the young woman over again, but still couldn't recollect where and when she'd met them. She shook her head from left-to-right.

"Hmm. Perhaps you don't remember the day we met as well as you thought."

Rei raised an eyebrow.

"What do these people have to do with that day?"

Minako nodded her head at the teen-aged girl, who in reply headed out of the room and into another. Around 15 seconds later, she returned, this time with a dog. A dog which also looked strangely familiar...

"Taro?" Rei said to herself. Yes, of course! It all made sense! It was the dog that had strangely helped bring Minako and Rei together on that fateful day. How could she have forgotten?

Minako nodded. "Yep, it's Miki." The dog immediately headed over to her when she spoke it's name, it's tail lazily wagging all about. The fur around his mouth was turned completely gray now, showing how much time had really gone by. He looked as if he had some trouble with walking, but he tried his hardest to get over to Minako, who was now squatting so she could scratch it's chest.

"We always wanted to thank you, Hino-san, for bringing Miki into our lives," said the balding man. "I had to work a lot at the office when Noriko was younger, and I didn't like leaving her without a companion for so many hours. But when we went to mass that morning and read the posters you and Aino-san had put up outside of the gate, I knew she wouldn't be alone for much longer. Of course a dog cannot replace a father, but I think it helped make her feel somewhat not alone."

"Yes, father. Thank you, Hino-san." The teen-aged girl smiled politely and bowed. Rei smiled and bowed as well. She looked over at Minako, who was cooing to the dog and scratching it's belly now. She joined them and kneeled onto the wooden floor, which creaked under her weight. She rubbed the dog's back and nudged Minako.

"I thought we agreed it's name would be Taro." Minako shoved her back and smirked.

"I liked Miki better."

Rei stifled a grin. Is this really where Minako had wanted to take her so badly? It was almost too...sweet.


	6. I Can Go On With Life

A/N: Sorry this update is so late! Just a small case of writer's block and sleepiness. :-) But now that this chapter is done, I think I'll be able to write more freely now. :-D I hope I got the little pieces of past episodes right, like the lines they used and stuff. I was going by memory, so I hope it's at least somewhat accurate. And by the way, I'll bring Ami into it more soon! She's just busy, busy, busy at the hospital! Them doctor's and their busy-ness. Now, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM. It all came from Naoko Takeuchi's brain. :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hush, little chibi-Usa!" Usagi whispered loudly. "Papa has to sleep so he can go to work tomorrow. And you know, if Papa doesn't go to work, you and I won't have any money for cookies anymore! Oh, how terrible!" Usagi pouted and covered her eyes with her hand, and chibi-Usa mimicked her. Usagi squealed when she saw this, and picked her toddler up so she could spin her around. The two laughed for a couple of seconds, and then chibi-Usa went completely silent. Usagi stopped the spinning and watched to see what had made little Usagi so quiet.

"Chibi-Usa?"

Usagi was silenced when the little toddler puked all over her.

"No way! Chibi-Usa, why! Why do you do this to your mother who loves you so much!" The toddler merely laughed in response, and again did the pose her mother had done earlier. Usagi sulked and set the little clone back into her high-chair.

Just as she was in the process of taking her apron off, the doorbell rang. Her eyes widened in curiosity. "_Who would come over before calling first? Especially at crazy hours like-"_ Usagi took a look at her watch. _"8 P.M...? Okay, so maybe that's not so crazy... Mamoru's sleep schedule is throwing me all off! But still, they should have called first anyway!"_

She threw her apron off in a haste as the doorbell rang once again.

"Coming!" she exclaimed, and then smacked herself in the head when she remembered Mamoru had just gone to sleep. Chibi-Usa giggled and clapped her hands. Usagi turned around with the best glare she could muster and hushed little Usagi.

Usagi put her ear up to the door and asked, "Who's there?"

"It's me, Artemis," came a voice, which certainly didn't sound like Artemis'. It sounded more like a girl attempting to make a more manly voice. But of course, being Usagi, she fell for it.

"Oh, Art-" Usagi began and then paused. "Minako-chan!" Minako smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Did I really impersonate Artemis that well?" Usagi grinned and nodded. She waved her hand and told her idol-turned-friend to come in.

"It must be all of those voice acting gigs my manager insisted I take. I guess it paid off...in some weird way," Minako said before taking her signature white hat off.

"Ohhh! I remember when you did the voice of Sakura on "Over the Rainbow Tour"! I taped all of the episodes you were in, and clapped every time I saw your name in the credits!" Usagi shouted and jumped up and down. Minako gave a nervous smile and scratched the side of her head.

"Usagi!" Mamoru called from the kitchen. "What's with all the noise? Oh, gon'ban wa (good evening), Minako-chan." Minako bowed.

"Oyasumi."

"P-Papa! Papa!" Chibi-Usa cried out, her hands flailing all about to get her father's attention.

"Gomen ne, Mamo-san! I got excited!" Usagi clasped her hands together and lowered her head in apology. Mamoru tapped her lightly on the head before heading over to his daughter. He picked her up, and she chuckled happily.

"It's okay. Can you just try to keep it down, though? I'll take chibi-Usa inside our room with me. I'll see you tomorrow. Sayonara, Minako," Mamoru said, giving Usagi a peck on the cheek before heading back into the bedroom. Usagi watched as the door shut behind her husband, a large goofy grin plastered onto her face.

"You two are really meant to be together." Minako smiled sadly, and then plopped onto the couch. The television was blaring with news about her return to Tokyo, Japan.

"Mind if I turn this off?" she asked. Usagi nodded.

"Minako-chan? What's wrong? You look sad," she spoke, concern evident in her voice. She took a seat on a stool by the sofa and gave her full attention to her friend. Minako sighed.

"I'm sorry I showed up without calling... I just got back from dinner." Usagi looked at her with bewilderment.

"-With Rei." Minako finished. Usagi grinned.

"Really? Great! How'd it go?"

"A lot better than I expected it would. We got into a little argument when I went to pick her up from the shrine, but other than that, everything went smoothly. I'm kind of worried..."

"I'm confused. If everything went smoothly, why do you seem depressed?" Usagi asked. Minako opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. How could she explain this?

"See, Usagi, this may seem silly to you, but... I'm afraid that this is too good of a sign. Something's bound to go wrong, I know it. Just like when I-" She looked at Usagi, who seemed to be anticipating to hear what Minako had to say, but Minako was afraid she'd touch a wrong nerve with the girl. She could only imagine how Rei would react if she were to bring up her death.

"-when I died. She and I had gotten so close and it felt like I actually had what people call a 'best friend' for once. She didn't know of me when we first met. She only thought I was some average, teen-aged schoolgirl. But then when I'd pretended to be the Princess, any chance of a friendship we had was completely thrown to the side. I'm sure Rei might've mentioned to you guys about how close she and I got when I became just Sailor Venus, or rather Aino Minako."

"She's- Rei-chan is a very private person. We all knew you two were close, but she never said anything about it, especially after you passed away," Usagi replied. Minako smiled.

"Then maybe that's a good thing. If it wasn't for her, I would've lost who I truly am. She helped me realize that while I was Sailor Venus and always would be, I was Aino Minako as well. That the... that the past life didn't matter."

Usagi nodded animatedly.

"That's right! It must not affect us too much if Mamoru and I were able to break the curse!"

"Hai, that's right." Minako said, doing her best to keep a fake smile on her face rather than the real frown that wanted to show through.

_"What she and I had...doesn't matter."_

Usagi ran down the busy Tokyo street, hurriedly pushing through people and shouting out "gomen" every now and then.

"Ahh! I'm a half hour late! I'm so glad I'm meeting Mako-chan instead of Rei-chan! She'd kill me!"

She was out of breath, but only because she'd run 10 blocks. She thanked Luna for her strict training when she was a senshi, or else she would have passed out around the second block. (Maybe running away from Mamoru when he was with Hina helped as well, but she didn't want to get into that.)

Usagi bent over and rested her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath. She took about the thousandth look at her watch and it read 12:30 P.M. Makoto wouldn't be too mad...would she?

Usagi shook her head and clenched her fists. "Here I go!"

She walked a few feet more before she arrived at Crown, her favorite karaoke spot. She threw open the door with such force it smacked against the large window. She flinched. "Ahh!"

"Usagi-chan!" Motoki's head popped up from behind the counter. "Be careful! This store is expensive to take care of; I'm sure Mamoru has mentioned that before!"

Usagi carefully pulled the door closed, then scratched her head nervously. She grinned.

"Gomen! I guess I don't know my own strength." She thrust an arm up on her side and made a muscle...or at least attempted to. Motoki chuckled and shut the cash register.

"Go on in, Usagi-chan. Mako's waiting for you."

"...And I told Minako-chan that our past lives must not affect us too much since Mamo-san and I were able to break the curse and live happily. I don't want her worrying about our past lives too much anymore, you know? I'm sure Rei-chan wouldn't like it if she heard that Minako-chan was still dwelling on it either."

Makoto frowned.

"It still does matter somewhat, Usagi," she said. Usagi shrugged and took a sip of her strawberry juice, that happened to an obnoxious shade of pink.

"I think... I think that maybe there's something Minako's keeping from you and I. Keeping something from all of us." Usagi widened her eyes at Makoto and nearly choked on her drink.

"No way! You don't think it's another illness, do you?"

Makoto shook her head.

"No. Something that has to do with her and Rei, as well as the past life. Do you remember anything about our time on the Moon Kingdom, besides your relationship with Mamoru?"

Usagi put her index finger to her chin and thought for a moment. There were some things she'd gained almost a full memory of—her mother, Luna, Moon customs, and of course, Mamoru. But anything else...?

"Oh, yeah! I remember something!" she exclaimed, startling Makoto.

"What is it?"

"My favorite food were the rice cakes the Moon chef's made! Oh, I can practically taste them!"

Makoto dropped her head onto the table. Usagi raised an eyebrow.

"Mako-chan?"

"Usagi, you're hopeless."

"What am I supposed to remember?"

Makoto picked her head up from the table and leant back into her chair.

"I'm not even sure," she said with a sigh. Then, something struck her.

"Does Rei--" she paused. "How would I say this..." Usagi's eyes bulged out from curiosity. Makoto looked at her and chuckled. "No, you probably wouldn't know."

"Huh?" Usagi asked. Her ponytail-clad friend leant forward in her seat, folding and unfolding her hands.

"Well... Do you know if Rei is, you know, _that_ type?"

"What type?"

"_THAT_ type," replied Makoto, a wink following her words. Usagi looked completely lost. Was she really _that_ clueless? Makoto's eyebrows furrowed.

"Does Rei like women!"

"Oh!" Usagi clasped her hands together. She grinned as if she'd just discovered the secrets of the universe. _Yes, she really WAS that clueless..._

Suddenly, she stood up from her pink lounge chair. Makoto eyed her strangely. She watched as Usagi defiantly made her way over to the karaoke stage. She climbed up the three steps which led to the stage and grabbed hold of the microphone. Makoto braced herself. Usually when Usagi looked that determined about ANYTHING, it meant a lot of yelling and screaming, a.k.a. some serious singing...or her own little dramatization of some sort of past event.

"It was a day not unlike this, many years ago, in this very room," Usagi began, her voice lowered an octave. "I believe I was talking about getting you and Motoki-kun together when Rei said, 'Boys are a waste of time,'" Makoto was scared of how accurately Usagi was portraying their priestess friend. They way her eyebrows furrowed, the sound of her voice; everything was perfect.

"I said, 'Rei-chan! You don't like boys?' And she said to me, 'Didn't I say I was _that_ type?'." Makoto gasped. Usagi nodded enthusiastically.

"I was surprised too! I knew Rei-chan didn't like men all that much, but so much that she's..._that_ type?"

"I think it'd be easier to just say 'lesbian' now, Usagi." Makoto chuckled. Usagi shrugged and put the microphone back into it's holder. She strolled back over to the table and took a seat, this time in Rei's spot. She leant her elbows onto the table and dropped her chin into her palms.

"Maybe Rei-chan meant she was the type to not get obsessed over boys, like Naru-chan and I...or something like that." Makoto shook her head.

"I don't think so. Now that I think about it..." she trailed off, a far-away look in her eyes. "I remember Rei and Minako being close during our time on the Moon. I'm not exactly sure if it was in a friendship type of way, or if they had a relationship together. What do you think?" She turned her head to Usagi, who was grinning, her hands clutched together.

"I think Rei-chan and Minako-chan would make the cutest couple ever!" Makoto's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?"

"Awww! I wonder if all of Minako's songs were about Rei this whole time! Wouldn't that be SO romantic! Kawaii!"

"We don't even know if they were a couple or not, Usagi! Stop jumping to conclusions, because I know you and that big mouth of yours will head straight to Naru-chan, who will blurt it to all of the local news channels! Could you imagine Rei's face if she were to find out that we were gossiping about she and Minako? Or better yet, that WE were the one's who helped break it to the news!"

Usagi ignored Makoto and instead raced back up to the karaoke stage. She yanked the microphone from it's holder and clicked the music on. It was one of Minako's older songs, entitled "I'm Here".

"Minna (everyone)," Usagi spoke with a small, shy smile, her voice even higher than usual. "This song is to a very dear friend of mine. She's always been there for me, here and now, and in past lives too... I'm very sure of it. Minna, never stop searching for your true love!" Makoto knew who Usagi was impersonating now. Their very own idol, Aino Minako.

Usagi began singing the song-though very off-key- and mimicked the way Minako moved pretty well. She'd definitely gotten better with her impersonations over the years, that was for sure.

"You should really take an _actual_ break, Minako. You work way too hard sometimes." Rei heard Minako blew air through her lips as a response on the other line. She quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine, then. Be stubborn." She heard Minako half-laugh, and then the line went silent. They'd talked on the phone before, sure, but there was always this brief moment of silence. However, sometimes the brief silence grew into a 5 minute period of complete nothingness. Now was one of those 5 minute periods.

Finally, Minako cleared her throat.

"Mars," she said out of habit, and flinched before Rei would yell at her. But surprisingly, Rei simply went, "Hmm?" this time.

"Do you hate me?"

Rei was taken aback. _What a stupid question to ask..._

"What? Of course not. If I hated you, I wouldn't be on the phone with you as we speak. Why are you asking me this?"

"Did you ever hate me?" Minako went on.

"W-what?" If Minako had intended to confuse Rei, she'd did her job. The priestess was completely clueless.

"When we were teen-agers, did you hate me? I never hated you, even if it seemed like I did. You just-" she paused and squeezed her eyelids closed together, as if she were trying to remember something. "-made me so mad."

"Oh, really?" Rei asked sarcastically. "I couldn't tell when you told me 'I'm so disappointed in you!' and 'You have some more growing to do as a senshi!' Oh yes, I almost forgot my favorite! 'We don't need you here if you're going to completely ignore the past life'." Okay, so Minako had that coming. She knew that sooner or later, Rei would throw her words back into her face.

"I'm not the greatest with these kinds of apologies, because at the time, I meant what I said. But now... Yeah, I was way too harsh. I'm sorry." Artemis looked up as his former charge with curious blue eyes. Minako...apologizing? Reluctantly, no less?

"Yeah, well, your mocking did help me out in a little way." Rei rolled her eyes. "Okay, in a big way." Minako smiled to herself, but in a second, the smile vanished.

"You know," she began, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "I...wasn't mean to you just for the purpose of awakening your senshi powers. There was more to it than that. I really didn't want to admit it back then, though. I was being childish."

"I know that," Rei replied flatly. Minako lowered her eyebrows.

"You didn't let me finish, Mars. Part of me was upset that I was alone and you were all together, but another part of me was angry that you hadn't remembered anything at all about who we once were. You weren't the girl I'd nicknamed 'Mars Reiko' any longer. You weren't...the best friend I'd once had. The girl that I'd-" she hesitated. Even back on the Moon, she'd never admitted to Rei she'd fallen in love with her. She was always too afraid, too cowardly to accept something that she was supposed to be the goddess of. Love.

She laughed inside bitterly about the irony of it all. While she was still so powerful, she was also helpless. Her job was to make others happy, but she couldn't even find happiness for herself.

"Forget it. I don't know why I'm bringing this up now anyhow," Minako said with a hint of aggravation, more directed towards herself than Rei.

Rei wasn't sure what she should say. It was true, she still remembered barely anything of her life on the Moon. She'd never tell anybody, but it irritated her as well that she was the only one who couldn't recall _anything_. The most she ever got from the past life were her powers, and her strength as a senshi. But...the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere, the food, the emotions... She remembered none of that. And she'd once been best friends with Minako? She didn't know why, but that pained her the most not to remember.

"I'm going to go. I'll talk to you sometime tomorrow," Minako spoke hastily, catching Rei off-guard.

"O-Oh. Okay. Oyasumi nasai."

"Oyasumi."

Rei closed her phone slowly, Minako's words sinking in quickly.

"Minako..." she whispered to herself. "You've always been so important to me. At least now I know why, but... Why do I feel as if...perhaps..." She moved the blind away from her window so she could get a view of the night sky, particularly the moon.

"...perhaps...we were something more?"


	7. Thousands of Emotions

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys and girls! You all are soooo awesome! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll try to write more soon! BTW, I finally got the lines seperating a time change. I swear they were there before, but I guess they disappeared when I uploaded the last chapter onto here and I didn't notice. :( Anyway, thanks again for the reviews, and on with the chapter! I hope it lives up to whatever expectations you have!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM!  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_You almost got me that time, Reiko," Venus said with a smirk, her hand lazily wiping the red liquid that had seeped from her mouth away. Her sailor fuku was torn just about everywhere—or rather burned almost everywhere._

_Mars grinned smugly._

_"Almost? Look at you!" she mocked. "Face it, Venus. I won this time." Venus scoffed._

_"Hardly. But tell me, why is it you tone it down for Mercury and Jupiter, but when you and I are matched up against each other, you throw all of your strength into it?" Mars shrugged._

_"I can't stand seeing you walk around here, gloating about how you beat the Princess of Mars at her planet's specialty."_

_"And that would be?" Venus wanted to annoy the Hell out of Mars now. Winning in the ring wasn't enough; she had to win in the mind games as well, even though she had to admit, Mars was rather good at them. She always had been since the moment she arrived on the Moon. Today was different, however. Even during the battle, Mars seemed distracted by something, or maybe even...someone._

_Mars sighed._

_"Not today, Venus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do a bit of fire reading before bed." Mars powered down from her senshi uniform and was returned to her normal state. Venus quirked an eyebrow at her best friend. Had she finally gotten to the Princess of Mars with all of her childish taunting?_

_Mars turned her head only slightly and said, "Goodnight, Mina." As she walked off-presumably to her room- Venus watched her closely. She knew exactly the way Rei walked, the way she spoke, and the way she carried herself. However, today her walk had been off a step, her speech minimal and dull, and her confidence lacking. What was so wrong, and why couldn't she tell Venus about it? She owed it to Venus not only because she was the leader, but because they were close friends as well._

_Venus dropped her transformation, returning back to being her mortal self, Minako. As she started walking to her room, she played over every moment and detail that she remembered from that past week. Rei seemed perfectly normal, albeit still a bit cruel to Serenity, but normal nonetheless. However, there were a few things the seemed out of the ordinary. She'd gotten lazy during training sessions, and her aiming with her attacks was completely off. Even Mercury, who mainly had all the brains but less power managed to tire out the senshi of fire. But what really stuck out in Minako's mind was the way Rei purposely avoided Minako's glances to her at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. Usually as soon they made eye contact, they'd make jokes and mock each other, even if Rei was all the way down the table near Luna, while Venus was closer to Serenity at the head of the table. The pain from just those little avoidances hurt more than Rei would ever know._

_"Maybe she's figured it out," Minako pondered to herself. "Maybe she's figured out that I'm completely in love with her, and she has no clue how to react. She's probably...disgusted with me. I've seen the way that general from Earth, Jadeite, looks at her. Even though she refuses to dance with him so she can stay by Queen Serenity's side, it seems as if she has some sort of feelings for him." She smiled sadly to herself as she closed the door behind her._

_"I should give up on her. Endymion's first general in command seems to like me a lot. Perhaps I'll give him a try." She walked over to her bed and did a belly flop onto it, her body bouncing up slightly from the force. She could still smell Rei on the blankets, the sheets, and the pillow cases from when she'd stayed overnight a week earlier. Usually all of the bedding was changed each new week, but Minako asked the maid to prolong the life of the sheets for just one more week. Even if Rei was not there, it reminded her of the bond they shared. Sure, Mercury and Jupiter were close as well, but not like Rei and Minako. Mercury was with Princess Serenity more than anyone else, even Jupiter. Jupiter didn't seem to care too much, though. But how could anyone blame the blue-haired senshi of Mercury? Princess Serenity was just too darn hard to resist! Even Minako fell under the girl's spell sometimes, but that was mostly because they got together and schemed. Minako loved practical jokes, so she and Serenity were always up to something. Their main victims? Luna, Artemis, and of course, Rei._

_Minako smiled to herself as she thought of Rei's numerous reactions. She was usually _really _livid with each new prank, but calmed down and eventually laughed at herself...well, sometimes. Sometimes she'd even go as far as to skip meals to avoid Serenity and Minako._

_"Rei-chan," Minako pouted, her voice muffled by the gold blanket on her bed. "Why can't you just make things easier and love me back, huh?" She turned over and grabbed a pillow. She covered her face with it and let out a stifled "Argh!"._

Minako stared at her rather boring-looking ceiling. Although her eyes really saw the ceiling, her mind was playing out different scenes from her life on Venus and the Moon Kingdom. Most of the time, her thoughts were focused on Rei and the time they'd spent together, whether that be in a group or just the two of them, alone.

"Artemis." The plushy cat awoke reluctantly and looked to his owner, even if she couldn't see him. After a few seconds of debating with himself over whether he should answer or just pretend to be asleep still, he decided to give in and answer.

"Hai, Minako-chan?" he said sleepily.

"Mars, or rather Rei... Do you think-" she paused for a few moments. "What if I tried to get closer to her? Do you think she'd-"

Artemis cocked his head to the side.

"She'd what, Minako?" When there was no answer from his female companion, he sighed.

"So you've fallen for this Mars as well, huh? Hmm, that's not really a big surprise to me. But you should know Venus, that even though she _is_ the reincarnation of Sailor Mars, she's not who she once was. Hino Rei is very similar yet very different from your Mars Reiko. While the Princess of Mars was perceptive, Rei is- well, she's dense."

"Dense?" Minako inquired. "I'd say she's still perceptive."

"Dense when it comes to people who care about her. Dense when it comes to who and what she believes real friends are."

Minako turned over in her bed, now facing the window looking out onto the Tokyo streets. Rei's shrine was only a ways away from there.

"I think she trusts me. It's just... I've never been able to tell her...how I feel about her." Minako covered her face with her blanket and grunted in frustration. "Why, Artemis? I'm supposed to be the one who's the _least_ confused about this sort of thing."

Artemis gave a small chuckle.

"You're definitely the same Minako from the Moon, that's for sure. You are a bit crueler, however." A pillow came flying at Artemis, and since it was dark, he couldn't dodge it.

"You're just proving what I said to be true, Minako-chan!" he cried out from under the heavy pillow. Minako giggled. Artemis could always make her feel better...even if he was being mean!

And, for the first time in days, her eyes closed. Sleep would come that night, and hopefully bring plenty of good dreams from her time spent on the Moon Kingdom.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ami sat at her desk, tiredly flipping through what seemed like thousands of files and prescription slips. She wondered why none of her tight circle of friends barely ever bothered her about being too busy with work like they did with Minako. Maybe it was because Ami made valiant efforts to see at least two of them once, and sometimes if she was lucky, twice a month? Minako _tried_ to make efforts (or so she said), but still, she hadn't visited for years.

The person Ami saw most frequently was Usagi, and that was mostly due to the fact Usagi wouldn't let any of them escape her for more than a week. Even Minako was bombarded with phone calls every couple of weeks from her. Next to seeing Usagi most was of course Makoto. She and Makoto had grown very close over the years, mostly due to the fact it was only the two of them sometimes. Usagi was off with Mamoru, and Rei was always in Kyoto on business. However, after medical school began to pick up speed, they didn't see each other nearly as much. She half-smiled. At least Makoto and Motoki had finally gotten together. It was about time!

Rei was a different story. While the two of them would always be bonded by the night they'd stayed alone together when they were teen-agers- Ami running from her mother and a new school, Rei from her politician father who wanted nothing more than to fill surveys out with Rei to gain publicity- they'd never reach the closeness that Rei and Minako had. Those two were alike, though, and maybe that's what made them forever bonded. That, and they'd been the best of friends during the Moon Kingdom period. Ami recalled always seeing them together in her memories, constantly poking fun at each other and training 24/7. Minako always had Rei's back in battle simulations, and vise-versa. Even in real battle, Minako would step out of her leaders boundaries and take blows for Rei. Sadly, that led to their deaths in the battle with Earth, or rather Queen Beryl and the Shinnetou. It was tragic that Rei saw Minako die so many times, even if it was only twice. Having your best friend die once is horrible, but then it happening again in another life—that's something different, alright.

Just then, her phone rang. She clicked the green button on her speaker phone.

"Dr. Mizuno speaking," Ami said, her fingers still flipping through papers at a rapid pace.

"Ami-chan! Guess who!" Ami smiled and set the papers down.

"Usagi-chan, how are you?"

"Great! The girls want to get together tonight. Can you make it? Please! You have to come! It won't be a party without you!" Ami giggled at her odango-haired friend. No matter what the situation, the girl always managed to make her feel important and wanted.

Ami's smile fell short when she looked at the papers piling up on her desk. It would already take about half a day to get all of them done, and leaving would make it a day and a half. She rubbed her forehead and kept in a sigh she'd been wanting to release all night.

"Ami-chan?" came Usagi's voice. Ami ran her hand through her jet-black hair, which was left hanging just a little past her shoulders.

"Hai. I can make it. Where will it be tonight?"

"Yay!" Usagi exclaimed happily. "We're meeting at Minako's hotel. She said she rented the V.I.P. room out just for us! There's going to be TONS of food!"

"Just like Minako-chan to spoil us. She's so generous," Ami remarked, sounding almost ashamed. Usagi hadn't noticed however, and kept on ranting.

"I know! She's so nice! All that money and she's wasting it on us; wow! Ooo! I wonder if they'll have pizza! I've been wanting pizza for so long!"

After Usagi gave Ami directions, they hung up. Ami sat back in her black, comfortable leather chair and put her thumb to her lip. She started nibbling on her nail, gradually biting it off. She knew it was a bad habit, and she hadn't even done it as a child or a teen-ager. But ever since she got into the medical field, she found herself doing it more and more. There was always the whole 'chewing-on-a-pen' thing, but she'd once read somewhere that 1,000 deaths occur a year because people choke on their pens. Why anyone would actually shove a pen that far down their throat, she didn't know.

Ami stood up, taking a last glance at her heaping mounds of files before she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minako stood at the hotel entrance, waiting patiently, or rather impatiently for her friends to arrive. She was so anxious, but luckily she was hiding it very well. Well, from just about everyone besides Artemis, of course. He shifted uncomfortably under her arm.

"Minako, you're squeezing me so tight!"

"Oh, sorry. Here you go," Minako said and set him gently onto the ground. Artemis shook his head and took a seat on the concrete.

"Everything will be fine, you know. You're always so nervous when she comes around." Minako sighed and crossed her arms.

"You'd think I'd be over that by now. I'm a grown woman, for Kami-sama's sake!"

"Excuse me, Aino-san?" one of the hotel clerks asked, pushing in a rack full of suitcases. His eyes were wide, and he seemed entirely confused. Minako took a quick look at Artemis, who'd went completely still.

"Oh," Minako giggled. "Talking on my phone, that's all." She hurriedly pulled her ear piece from her phone out of her pocket and waved it around. The man smiled back, nodding in understanding. He bowed.

"Gomen."

Minako tipped her head slightly.

"That was too close," Artemis remarked after the man was gone. Minako rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why I even bothered. Those trashy tabloid writers have already written full-page articles on how insane I am. They write about how I talk to my stuffed dog."

"I'm not a dog!" Artemis cried out defensively, his ears raising much like a dog's would. Minako laughed.

"I know, I only said that to make you upset."

"Minako-chan!" Usagi yelled out of the window of her car, swerving all about. "We're here!"

"We won't be for much longer if you don't stop the car, Usagi!" Rei shouted. "Makoto, why did you let her drive?! Better yet, why does she have a license?!"

"My license was suspended for speeding, didn't I tell you?! You don't have a license anyway, so you shouldn't be complaining!" Makoto retorted.

Usagi came to an abrupt stop as they pulled up to Minako. Makoto luckily had her seatbelt on, so she was only jolted forward. Rei however, thinking the stop was going to be a bit more stable, had taken her seatbelt off moments ago. Boy, was _that_ a mistake.

Her head smacked into Usagi's seat, and that's when her lip split open. She instantly brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to cover the wound so Usagi wouldn't get upset.

"Baka!" she managed to get out, but it sounded more like "Bafka!".

"I'm definitely taking a bus next time you offer to drive." Makoto opened the door and stepped out, Luna fussing under her arm. Usagi pouted as she too climbed out.

"Hey! You know how good of a driver I can be. I was just so happy that we finally made it!" Minako walked over to the car.

"Finally made it?"

"Yes. Usagi's been driving us around for about two hours now. We wanted to show up a little early, and seeing how it takes an hour already to get here, she decided we should leave early. Now I know why you were chosen to be the leader of the senshi, Venus," Luna said. She jumped down from Makoto's arms and swished her tail at Usagi, who was on the verge of attacking the plushy.

After a couple of minutes, Rei stepped out of the backseat. She had her hand up to her mouth, but in a inconspicuous manner.

"Rei? Are you alright?" Makoto asked, her eyes full of concern. Usagi looked horrified and Minako seemed worried. Rei rose an eyebrow.

"Hai. Why? Is something wrong? You're looking at me like I have a thousand heads."

"There's blood all over your hand!" Usagi exclaimed. Rei hadn't even noticed how bad the wound really was. But Usagi was right; Rei's hand was completely covered in crimson red liquid. Minako was the first to rush over to her. She attempted to pry Rei's hand away from her mouth, but to no avail.

"You have to let me see it. Put your hand down," she demanded. Rei looked at her and grimaced.

"I don't have to do anything for you." Minako furrowed her eyebrows.

"Now's not the time to be defensive, Rei." Rei shuddered when Minako _actually_ spoke her real name aloud. All of her invisible walls fell and she dropped her hand, allowing Minako to examine the wound.

Minako squinted her eyes, trying to get a good look at the cut, but the lights were too dim.

"I can't see it."

"Maybe you should take her into your room's bathroom. That way you have more light and water," Luna suggested.

"That's a good idea. Mind taking a walk? Or would you rather stand here and bleed to death?" Minako smirked. Rei clenched her teeth together and started walking on her own. The automatic doors slid open and she headed to the elevator.

"Wait! You don't even know where my room is!" Minako hollered, chasing after her dark-haired friend.

"I can find it on my own," Rei replied, her arms crossed. She looked as strong-willed as ever. Minako half-laughed as she jogged over to the elevator and then stood next to Rei.

"Without a key? Not even you can pry a door like that open alone, Mars."

The elevator doors opened and the two women walked inside.

"I could always knock it down. I _do_ remember some of our senshi moves."

Minako sucked her teeth at Rei.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you kick a steel door down. I don't even think Mako-chan could do that."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Did I do that to Rei-chan?" Usagi asked into the air.

"Probably." Usagi leaned down and glared at her plushy Luna. She reached her arms out when Makoto pulled her back.

"Easy does it, Usagi. You've already caused enough bloodshed tonight."

Usagi spun around and looked Makoto in the face. At first she appeared to be angry, but then her eyes immediately welt up with tears. She jumped into Makoto's arms.

"I didn't mean to do it!" she wailed. "I ruined the whole night, didn't I?!"

Makoto laughed nervously and patted Usagi's back as the hotel clerks looked the strange group over.

"Is everything alright?" came a smooth, high voice from behind Makoto. Makoto turned her head slightly, just enough to see that it was Ami. Ami clutched her purse firmly, looking very worried.

"Yes. Usagi just gave Rei a bloody lip, that's all," said Artemis. Of course, that made Usagi cry even harder. Ami gasped.

"Nani?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minako slid the key card into the door's lock, the red 'locked' sign turning a light shade of green. She opened the door and waved Rei in to follow her. She took her white jacket off and threw it onto the bed, revealing a tight white t-shirt underneath which read "Rocker Bunny" over her chest. She dropped the key card back into her purse, and dropped the purse next to the bed.

"Here's the bathroom." Rei gaped when she saw how big it was. There was not only a shower and a toilet in the bathroom, but a hot tub and not only one, but three sinks! What normal person would need more than even one sink?!

"Surprised?" Minako questioned, a smug look on her face. Rei frowned, but winced at the pain from her lip wound.

"Eeeep!" Minako grabbed a hand towel from the rack hanging above the toilet and went over to Rei. She went to wipe the blood from her lip when Rei pulled away. It was Minako's turn to frown this time.

"I only want to help. Why do you always refuse help, even what it's something so small like this?"

"Help is a lie. People only help others because they have some other intention," Rei explained.

"What? That's not true. People help because they care about the other person's well-being, that's all. There's not _always_ some dark, secret intention."

"Teh." Rei turned her head, arms still tightly crossed.

"You took help from Usagi when I tricked you into singing for the hospital patients, didn't you? Good came from that, did it not? Not only did you show Usagi you trusted her, but your powers awoke as well. See? Not all help is given due to an ulterior motive." Rei sighed in response.

"I can't believe I thought we'd actually become good friends over the past couple of days. I guess I was wrong," Minako said, her tone a mix between hurt and anger.

"Gomen ne." Her eyes grew from surprise. She looked to Rei. She seemed genuinely sorry. Was this for real? Not only had the girl apologized, but it was within a few seconds from when the words had left Minako's mouth.

"I'm being immature. We are friends, and I realize...that I should accept help. Especially when it's from a friend." She smiled, and it was obvious it was forced.

"_Especially when it's from you, Mina."_ Rei heard a voice echo in her head. She sucked in her breath anxiously, wondering where the heck that had come from.

Minako had to smile at Rei, even if it was out of pity. At least she was trying, right?

She brought the towel up to Rei's lips and gently wiped the blood away. It was mostly dried up, thankfully, but the remaining crimson pouring out was no small amount. All of the sudden, she felt sweat threatening to spill down her temples. She was so close to Rei, just like the night she'd been bold and tried for a hug. She could smell the incense again, and the faintest metallic smell of the blood. Rei was watching as Minako vigorously worked on her lip, wincing only every now and then. Their faces were so close, only inches apart...

_"Minako, stop! You couldn't do that to her! That'd be like throwing everything you said about help right back into her face. She'll think you're trying to pull off some other intention, some other aspiration."_ Her conscience was right. What else would Rei think? Minako couldn't possibly...

Minako slowed her hand down, her eyelids ajar. Rei noticed and upturned her eyebrows at the girl.

"Minako? Daijobu?"

Minako snapped out of her trance and looked at Rei.

"Oh, sorry. I was day-dreaming."

"About...?"

"Random stuff. You know, I never noticed how nice your lips are. Especially when you make that cute, little grumpy face—like you're making right now!"

Rei blushed and looked away. "Whatever."

Minako smiled and leant in for one last look at the gash.

"Looks good! Just don't mess with it too much and it should seal up within a few minutes." She nodded her head once with satisfaction and headed out of the bathroom, Rei following close behind. She gathered her jacket and her purse under her arm, deciding to keep the jacket off due to the fact the room had grown rather hot all of the sudden.

Minako reached for the door handle but stopped and turned on her heel when she remembered she'd forgotten her cell phone on the desk. However, right behind her was Rei, and they collided. Rei tripped over her feet and fell right onto Minako, pinning her up against the door. Minako's heart sped up, and she was finding it hard to breath. Rei found herself unable to move, and also...not wanting to move so much.

_"What's going on with me? Why aren't I moving?"_

No matter how much Rei or Minako tried to make themselves move, they simply couldn't. _Someone_ had to do _something_.

That's when their eyes met. They stared at each other for a while, Rei's lips parting every now and then, struggling to get at least a noise out. Minako gulped nervously when Rei moved closer to her. She could see just about every emotion run across the girl's face. Rei looked like she was fighting a battle and losing horribly.

Minako closed her eyes. She'd envisioned this moment so many times, and it was hard to believe that it could actually be happening! Rei's breath played across her lips, and her cheeks flushed.

"Minako...chan," Rei whimpered. She sounded frightened... But why?

Minako reluctantly opened her eyes, only to see Rei holding back tears in her own. She was trembling.

"Reiko?" she asked, placing her hands on the sides of Rei's soft, delicate face. Rei sniffed and turned her eyes to the side.

"Are you okay?"

Rei shook her head.

"It all...It all just hit me. You and I, Makoto, Ami, the past life, Serenity, the moon, Mars... Why? Why has all of this been triggered all of the sudden?" She gave Minako a desperate look. Minako frowned.

"I...don't know."

"How do you 'not know'? You seemed to know just about everything 8 years ago. What's changed?" Rei pushed herself off of Minako. Minako furrowed her eyebrows.

_"I'm beginning to see why everyone hates the past life. It ruins EVERYTHING."_

"Everyone's memories are triggered by different things. It could be at random, but it could be because-" she cut herself short. _"Because we almost kissed, much like that night we almost did in the past life? Yeah, she'll really like that."_

"It's probably just random. Come on, let's go. It'd be better to talk to the girls about this, since like me, they also regained their memories years ago."

Rei nodded slowly, agreeing.

"Take the elevator to the first floor. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Rei didn't say anything in response, but she walked out of the room, letting the door shut itself behind her. Minako watched as the door slowly closed, squeaking as it made its way to its final resting place.

After it closed she took a seat on her bed. She raised her hands to chest-level and stared at her palms.

_"...But you should know Venus, that even though she is the reincarnation of Sailor Mars, she's not who she once was. Hino Rei is very similar yet very different from your Mars Reiko."_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Rei looked over her shoulder at Minako's hotel room, the tears still in her eyes and a pained expression on her face.

_"Why do I feel as if...perhaps...we were something more?"_


	8. Vanish Into The Night Sky

A/N: Here is Chapter 8. :-) I hope it's alright! I want to thank of all you guys for the reviews once again! You all are soooo great!!! Sorry if there are any grammatical errors; I was kind of watching "Dawn of the Dead" and being spammed with IMs from friends when I was proof-reading it. Anyway, here you are!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM or any of it's characters.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usagi hopped around, lightly smacking her ear every now and then. Ami and Minako giggled, and Makoto and Rei shook their heads. Usagi stopped with the hopping and put her hands on her hips, tilting her head.

"Come on, guys! Guess what I am already!"

"Are you a-" Minako pointed to the word 'bunny' on her t-shirt, a smile on her glossy lips. Usagi let out a surprised noise and stomped her foot into the floor.

"Wow, Minako-chan! You really are amazing!"

"Anyone with two brain cells could've guessed what you were, Usagi. Try not being a rabbit next time. You've pretended to be one each time your turn came around," Rei said.

"Yeah," Makoto chimed in. "Try being something like-" she made a noise of contemplation. "A panda." Rei frowned and crossed her arms.

"No, that's _my_ animal. Let Usagi keep her rabbit."

Minako wanted to squeal happily. Rei could be so incredibly cute, even if that was the last thing she wanted to be. The way she unintentionally pouted her lips, and the way she turned her nose up—could she get any more adorable?! Even with that little gash on her lip, it didn't affect her looks at all.

"I think your impression was very good, Usagi-chan," Ami said in her always-friendly tone. Usagi grinned proudly and sat on the soft leather couch, nudging Ami with her elbow.

"I wasn't sure if you girls wanted to or not," Minako began, standing up from her seat next to Makoto. "But the hot tub is always on stand-by." She walked over to the hot tub and yanked the cover off, revealing a steaming, bubbly spring of water. Makoto and Usagi's eyes grew and they gasped in unison.

"I almost completely forgot about the Jacuzzi! This is too awesome!" Makoto jumped up, allowing her 'Usagi side' to show. Of course, Usagi followed Makoto's actions and ran over to Minako, hugging her tightly. Minako chuckled and hugged the girl back.

"Do you have your suits?" she asked.

"Hai!" all of the girls responded, except for Rei, who uncrossed her arms. She seemed apprehensive. Minako raised her eyebrows.

"I'm guessing you forgot to bring yours?" Rei glared at Usagi and Makoto, who scratched their heads and looked away.

"No one told me about this." She shrugged, smiling to herself. "That's alright. I can hang out here and read or something."

"Oh." Minako licked her lips. Her eyes wandered over to the cart with her wardrobe on it, which she'd asked a hotel clerk to bring in much earlier. Her eyes were pretty strong, so she was able to spot three bikinis: a red one, a black one, and her favorite; the white bikini. She smirked deviously.

"Well... I do have a few extra bathing suits. You could borrow one if you'd like."

Rei nearly choked on her own breath.

"W-what?"

"Do you want to?"

"Borrow one, Rei-chan! It'll be fun!" Usagi exclaimed, her eyes huge.

"U-um, no thanks. I wouldn't want to make you go to all that trouble. Your room is all the way on the fifth floor, after all." Rei prayed to the gods that Minako would just give it up.

"No problem. I have two extra bathing suits down here, actually. See?" Minako put her hand up in the direction of the over-stocked cart.

"How wonderful! Now we can all enjoy ourselves," Ami commented happily. Now Rei felt even worse. Minako had done this on purpose, she was convinced. She knew getting all of the girls in on this would make her feel guilty. As if dealing with this 'past-life headache' wasn't enough already. You'd think Minako of all people would be sympathetic in that case. Rei's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"...Alright."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're so mean, Minako. Did you know that?" Rei tapped her foot on the marble floor, her shoe making only the slightest noise. "I'm going to ruin your reputation. I'm going to tell all of your fans how cruel and unsympathetic you are." Minako half-laughed.

"How am I being mean, Rei? I just want you to have fun with the rest of us, that's all." Rei lowered her eyebrows.

"You know what a toll those memories take, don't you? I can barely concentrate breathing. If I drown in the hot tub, it's all your fault."

Minako found the bikini she'd been looking for and pulled it out.

"Contrary to the belief that you think I want to make your life a living hell, you're way off." She held up the bikini to Rei's form. Rei stiffened. "Hanging out with us could help you relax some. It won't kill you to have fun, Hino-san." Minako nodded her head complacently. "Just what I thought. Perfect. Now go try it on, you!" She shoved the suit into Rei's hands and pushed the girl towards the bathroom located next to them. Rei traveled to the bathroom dejectedly, looking a lot like a child who's just been forced to try on a dress they hated. Minako headed to the other bathroom on the other side of the room, anticipating showing-off to Rei...and of course actually _seeing_ Rei with that bikini.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rei appeared from the bathroom, her clothes from earlier bunched together in a ball and pressed against her bare stomach. Her hair was up in a tight but messy bun, and her longish bangs framed her face. She peeked her head out from behind the corner and saw Usagi, Ami, and Makoto laughing and joking around in the hot tub, clad in their bathing suits. She couldn't see their suits that well, but it looked to be that Usagi was wearing a normal pink bikini with, of course, white rabbits all over it. Makoto was in her signature color-green- and also wearing a tasteful bikini. And then there was the modest Ami, who unlike the others, was in a light blue one-piece suit. Apparently their pop-idol friend was still changing. Rei breathed a sigh of relief.

_"Stupid Minako...forcing me to wear one of her ridiculously 'in-style' bathing suits. Couldn't she just have left me alone?! Argh..."_

"Rei-chan!" Usagi squealed from the hot tub. Rei clenched her fists out of frustration.

_"Oh, well. They're going to see me anyway."_

Rei took a deep breath in, and then let it out. It wasn't that she was self-conscious exactly, it's just that the bathing suit she was currently wearing...wasn't exactly her style. As a matter of fact, she recalled one of the more recent times she'd watched television (reluctantly, of course; it was on Usagi's television, and she _always_ keeps it on) that the bathing suit was advertised in some sort of high-profile Minako commercial. It was no surprise to Rei that Minako had actually kept the suit...unfortunately for her.

She walked over to the steaming tub, the three girls already in there completely silent and subtly watching her every move. Rei put her right foot in first, then her left, and then drifted over to an empty spot next to Ami. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Rei spoke up.

"What? Does it look that bad?" Usagi opened her mouth to speak, but Rei went on. "Look, I know I don't have the _'extraordinary'_ body that Aino Minako has, but I can't help it if I don't fill this bikini out as well as she does!"

"It's not that, Rei-chan," Ami said, her voice taking on it's usual soft tone. "We've just never seen you with such a lack of clothes. You look very nice." She smiled at the end of her sentence for good measure. Rei's eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, Rei. Stop being such a party-pooper." Makoto reached across Ami, gently nudged Rei and winked. The priestess became flushed. _"Is this hot tub way too hot or what?"_

Usagi made a sad face and puppy dog eyes to match her expression.

"I saw the commercial for that bikini a thousand times and Minako _still_ gave it to Rei! It's not fair, I want it!" She smacked the water with her hand, but learned that was a bad idea. It splashed right back up at her and flew into her eyes.

"Ow!" The other girls in the tub chuckled.

"Okay, Usagi. You can have it when I'm done with. I promise," Rei said. Usagi's eyes bulged and her jaw dropped.

"No way! Really?!" Rei smiled and nodded.

"Arigato, Rei-chan! You're the best!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minako looked herself over in the bathroom mirror once again, checking to make sure the bikini looked perfect. And indeed, it did.

"Maybe this will help your headache, Rei-chan," she said to herself, smirking devilishly. Confidence was one thing Aino Minako never lacked, not even as a child. Her parents always encouraged her and made her feel that she really was one in a million, which in a way, was kind of true. However, she was faltering when it came to her confidence these days. Rei made her feel...normal. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad yet, but for the most part, she liked it. But today, Minako was going to show Rei what she was missing, and what 'Mars Reiko' could have had. _What Rei can **still** have._

She strode out of the bathroom, making sure the door behind her made noise as she closed it. As she expected, the girls looked over at her—_except_ Rei! Rei was too busy deafening herself to the outside world by putting all of herself into the water except the top of her head and her eyes, and they seemed to have an irritated gleam in them. Nothing out of the usual, Minako suspected it had been Usagi's doing.

"Minako-chan!" Usagi quickly stood up, almost slipping. Ami and Makoto steadied her; Usagi hadn't seemed to notice, though. "You're so cute! I love your bikini!" Minako smiled.

"Thanks. I know it's a little tight, but I'm wearing it for advertising purposes." She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Of course it was Manager-san's idea. Even with close friends he forces me to be a walking and talking billboard."

"We should give him more credit. His ideas seem to work, see?" Makoto pointed to Usagi who was rambling on about all of the little details on Minako's clothes that she loved. Ami giggled.

"Usagi-chan, you should sit down now. You're liable to fall if you keep doing all of those strange hand, or rather arm gestures you do." Usagi made a childish frown and dropped her shoulders. She took her seat back in the hot tub.

"Alright, alright."

Minako slipped her right foot into the water, finally capturing Rei's attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw this, so she made sure to get in _really_ slow. Rei brought her head up shyly, water falling from her wet hair and back into the hot water. She didn't want to look at the idol, but she couldn't stop herself. The woman was gorgeous. Her body was... unbelievable, as she was often reminded by blaring TV commercials.

As Minako settled herself into a spot in-between Usagi and Makoto they'd made for her, she examined the little part of Rei that she could see. The girl's skin was absolutely flawless. She'd never seen someone who didn't wear much make-up have such perfect skin before.

"How's the bathing suit?" she asked. Rei didn't bother to look Minako in the face to answer her. She shrugged.

"It's o.k. if you don't like breathing. I, however, prefer to breathe."

"Sorry. I just like my bathing suits to be a little snug, you know?" Rei sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Usagi and Makoto exchanged looks, both fighting the urge to grin like maniacs. Rei was being shy and difficult... How cute!

"So how long do you have until you have to return to England?" Ami asked. They all looked at Minako, including Rei. Minako calculated on her fingers how long she really did have left. _"Only three weeks... It seems like a good amount of time, but to me, it's not enough."_

"About three weeks. But if you want to get technical, around two weeks. I have about seven days of work altogether during this supposed 'vacation'." Artemis hopped onto the little stairs leading up to the hot tub.

"Minako will never take a real break. She's one of those crazy people who loves working...though I have no idea why. That's why I'm glad I'm a cat. No work for me!" Minako smirked and pat her companion on his head.

"You wish you were a cat, Artemis. Sadly, you're only a cute, little plushy." Artemis turned his head away indignantly.

"Whatever, Minako."

"Ah, it's so nice to take a break from the flower shop," Makoto said with a grin as she leant back against the tub's frame.

"Was it a long week?" Ami asked.

"Sure was! I love having my own shop and all, but it gets stressful even with Motoki around. I care about him a lot, but sometimes I just need a break from it all. I have to admit though, I do kind of miss him." Ami smiled at her light-brown haired friend. She was more than happy that the girl had finally let Motoki in, and had decided to marry him. They made a great couple; they both balanced each other out. Motoki was a bit of a baby, and Makoto was anything but. She could cook, and he could fix things...even though he did need her help every now and then. He was a genuinely great guy, and he cared so much about her. He always had, and he probably always would.

"How about you, Ami? How's the hospital treating you?" Makoto asked.

"Well," Ami began, an unsure look on her face. "It's different from the London hospital where I worked for a few years. Even though I'm back in Tokyo with people who fully understand what I say, I have to say I miss England's hospital quite a bit. I suppose it's only because I'd gotten used to it, and I knew how everything went on and worked. I find that here in Japan my work is piling up quicker than it had been overseas. Hundreds and hundreds of people come in and out everyday."

"Sounds stressful," Rei chimed in. Ami nodded.

"Mm." Usagi shook her head in disbelief.

"Wow. It makes me glad that I only have to watch Chibi-Usa and do things around my old house for Mama. You're amazing, Ami-chan!"

"I agree," Makoto added. Ami blushed.

"It's nothing, really. There are plenty of other people who do the same thing everyday. How's the shrine doing by the way, Rei-chan?"

"It could be worse," she replied. Minako looked at her questionably.

"I didn't find anyone over in Kyoto to sponsor us yet, and everyone else who's able to here in Tokyo won't. They're too busy sponsoring those new, fancy shrines popping up all over the place. No one cares about the actual Shinto religion anymore, apparently."

"That surprises me. Not a single company will do it?" Minako asked. Rei moved her head back and forth.

"Nope."

Minako gazed at the water, concentrating deeply.

_"What if I sponsored her?"_

_"Rei-chan wouldn't really be..." Ami trailed off._

_"For that," Makoto finished._

_"She's a very proud person. And if you ever offered that to her, she'd probably give you the worst glare you've ever gotten and then stomp off."_

Minako watched as the water made little bubbles. _"Our friendship is still delicate. I'll offer help to her eventually, but not now. Makoto and Ami were right. I should just give it a little more time."_

"Where's Luna, Artemis?" Usagi turned her head as far as she could and scanned the room.

"She fell asleep. I tried to get some sleep as well, but I got too bored," Artemis explained.

"That Luna! She's always sleeping."

Rei grabbed her head with both of her hands as a surging pain shot through her brain. It felt like twenty migraines hitting her all at once.

"Rei-chan?" Ami asked, her eyes wide.

"My...head..." Rei squeaked out in pain. "It hurts...so bad!" Usagi drug her wet feet and quickly headed over to her long-time priestess friend, the others following close behind. Ami moved in closer to Rei, and Makoto got on her other side. Minako stood behind Usagi and remained calm since she secretly knew what was going on with Rei. The memories were hitting her all at once, just like Minako's had done at a time.

"Rei-chan!" Usagi grabbed hold of Rei's shoulders. "Rei-chan! What's going on? What happened?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the girls had taken Rei up to Minako's room and laid her on the bed to sleep, they returned to the hotel's V.I.P. room and sat around the dining table. None of them were really in the mood to eat since they were concerned about what was happening with Rei, so they decided to just snack on some appetizers.

"Strange..." Luna mumbled in her human form, pacing around the table with her index finger and thumb to her chin. "Artemis, do you think she's finally getting her memories back?" Artemis cocked his head.

"It could be. But why are they returning so late? They're not really too useful anymore. It would've been better had she regained them eight years ago. Perhaps they've been triggered by some sort of event?"

"Maybe. Nothing's happened with her too much lately, though. She hasn't said anything about Kyoto besides the sponsoring bit, and I'm doubting anything happened there anyway," Makoto explained. Usagi looked over at Minako.

"Minako-chan?" Minako raised her eyes to Usagi's.

"Hai?"

"I hate to intrude, but... When you took Rei up to your room earlier, did anything happen?" Minako's eyes wandered to the untouched carrot on a plate in front of her. Telling them would be for the best, right?

"Well...She and I..." Minako looked up at the girls. They all looked strangely curious, especially Usagi and Makoto who were practically falling off of their chairs. She wanted to laugh, but she knew it'd be inappropriate at the moment.

"Our legs kind of got crossed, and long story short, we came close to-" Usagi's eyes were inhumanly large.

"-Kissing. But... she pulled away because she'd suddenly remembered moments from our past lives."

"Like what?" Luna asked.

"She didn't exactly specify, but she did say she remembered she and I, Makoto, Ami, Princess Serenity, the Moon, and Mars. Do you think that...perhaps...she and I almost kissing triggered her memories?" Minako inquired to Luna. Luna thought for a moment and then nodded.

"There's no need to sugar code anything, now. You and Rei were really close to being together at one point. We all knew that, with the exception of Rei. I figured that her memories hadn't come back because she didn't want them. She completely closed herself off to the life she had before this one, maybe because the Hino Rei here on Earth suffered through so much emotional pain, and she figured she wouldn't be able to handle what the past life had to bring."

"But why has she let her guard down now?" Ami asked.

"You girls haven't transformed into senshi in years. Like Artemis and I, Rei might've thought they wouldn't resurface now that it's been so long. We were all wrong."

Ami had to think about her memories. Yes, now that she'd thought about it, Rei and Minako were _always_ together. Not only did they confide in each other and talk every chance they got, but they had sleepovers almost every night at Minako's insistence. They trained together, and if Rei ever made a mistake in battle (which was usually _quite_ rare), Minako was the first one to stand up for her and make an excuse, even if Rei didn't want it. Ami remembered how she began to wonder if Minako cared about Rei more than a leader should care about her soldiers. But then she came to the conclusion it wouldn't be too big of a surprise. Minako was the goddess of love and beauty, and she believed love shouldn't be defined by gender. Rei was also extremely beautiful, so that also made it unsurprising that Minako had fallen for her so hard.

"I remember," Minako spoke up, a sad smile crossing her lips. "when she first arrived on the Moon. She was so against being there, and she just wanted to go back to Mars. I felt bad for her, and even though I felt the same way that she did, I hid it. At first I started teasing her because I liked the way she got so irritated, and eventually, she did the same back to me. We weren't too friendly towards each other at first, especially since we both wanted the position of the leader of the senshi. But really, I just wanted her friendship. She'd drawn me in the moment I'd seen her...she was undeniably attractive and so unlike anyone I'd ever met before. On Venus, I'd been raised on love and the beauty of things around me. She was brought up on the complete opposite. She'd been raised on the hideousness of her desolate planet and warfare. I was really surprised someone like her managed to survive on a planet like Mars.

"After I'd been chosen as the leader, things between she and I cooled down. We still teased each other, but we weren't nearly as cruel as we were before. I even got her to open up a bit, and soon, we became best friends. And...over time..." Minako paused, her voice becoming uneven and sad. Usagi looked at her sympathetically because of what she herself had gone through with Mamoru. She knew how it felt to have to keep secret how strongly you felt about someone for the greater good. She also felt...guilty. If it wasn't for her, maybe the two of them could've been together both in the past life, and in this one as well. She wanted to curse her mother for plucking such young, innocent girls from their homes just to watch her daughter, Princess Serenity, because the Princess was too much of a coward and klutz to look after herself.

"And over time," Minako went on, finding it hard to keep her voice from wavering. "I fell in love with her. I'd never felt anything like it before. It was so amazing, so wonderful...yet so scary at the same time. But I knew I couldn't admit to her what I felt. Not only did I strongly doubt that she felt the same thing for me, but she and I could never be. My duty, along with the rest of us, was to watch the Princess and protect her."

A tear escaped Usagi's eye. She hurriedly wiped it away before anyone could notice, but Makoto did.

"Usagi?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm so sorry," Usagi sobbed. "It's all my fault that you suffered so much, Minako. If I hadn't been such a nuisance... Maybe things could have been different between you and Rei. I'm so selfish." Minako's eyes widened.

Makoto put a comforting hand on Usagi's back and rubbed.

"That's not true. I was happy to look after you." Ami nodded in agreement.

"Me too. I'm so glad we all became such good friends. In the past life and this one as well, you've brought us all together. I'd be alone right now and Mako-chan wouldn't have Motoki if it wasn't for you, Usagi-chan." Usagi sniffed and shook her head. She was unconvinced.

"Usagi," Minako called to her. "Usagi." She bore her eyes into Usagi, trying to get the girl to look up. After a few moments, the girl finally made eye contact with her childhood/teen idol.

Minako smiled at her warmly. "Mako and Ami are right. If it hadn't been for you, I would have never met Rei at all. As the saying goes, 'It's better to have loved once than to have never loved before'."

"Well actually, I think the saying is more like-" Ami started but Minako cut her off.

"Now's not the time to get technical, Ami-chan," she said with a wink. Ami blushed and ran a hand through her long, jet-black hair.

"The point is, if it wasn't for you, I might have never felt love. You know better than anyone how strong that feeling is, and how overwhelming it can be. Even as Venus, I still had trouble with it. Who knew the Princess of the Moon would help me out with such a problem, ne?" she joked. Usagi giggled and wiped the tears away from her cheek.

"Thank you, Usagi-chan. You didn't only allow me to fall in love with Mars, but you also helped me fall in love with Hino Rei too. I owe you everything."

Usagi grinned, quickly returning to her normal self.

"Well...you don't owe me _everything_... But Maybe..." Ami and Makoto knew where this was going the moment their odango-haired friend started speaking. "You could...give-me-exclusive-front-row-tickets-and-backstage-passes-to-your-concert-at-the-end-of-the-month!" They were amazed. Usagi had managed to get all of that out in one single breath. Everyone chuckled, including Usagi.

"Of course."


	9. I Want To Complete the Things

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM in any way, shape or form.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rei was lost in her dreams. She was living her former life over again in them.

_"From Mars, eh?" Minako examined the girl, making sure to take in every part of her. She was about Minako's age, maybe a few months younger. For being Martian, she had a rather petite build, and she was quite attractive. Minako was taken aback; as a child growing up on Venus, all of the stories she'd been told about the Martians made them out to seem barbaric, and to look like monsters. This girl however, looked nothing like a monster. Minako found herself very interested in getting to know her, and perhaps establishing a friendship._

_"No. I can't start thinking about friendships yet. This girl, as of now, is competition. Until the leader is chosen, I will do my best to keep my distance from her," Minako thought to herself._

_"Yes," Rei answered. "I'm from Mars."_

_"Well, I'm from Venus," the blonde-haired girl declared proudly. "It's the planet of love and beauty, not to mention, wealth!"_

_Rei remained silent. Minako crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow._

That's when Rei's mind quickly flashed to another encounter with Minako, not too long after the first memory.

_"I'm going to be the leader," Minako spoke out into the big empty sparring room. Ami, Makoto, and Rei looked over at her. Rei appeared especially agitated._

_"What makes you so sure that you will become leader? From what I've heard, besides the Mercury girl, you've had the least combat experience out of all of us." Minako turned her head to look at the Martian, her blonde hair swaying slightly._

_"It's not all about combat experience, you know. You have to be able to strategize-" she began counting on her fingers. "-Be able to remain calm in a hostile situation, be physically enabled, be willing to risk your life for the Princess, no matter what, and you have to be smart." Rei sighed as if she was bored._

_"Good job, you listened to what Luna told all of us. What you're saying is nothing new." Minako half-laughed._

_"You must not have been listening to her. I didn't mention one of the qualities she listed. Do you remember which one that was?"_

_Rei furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip as she went over the list her mind. Yes, there was one missing! She couldn't seem to recall what it was, even though it was pretty simple, and the list was considerably short._

_"'You must have excellent social skills so that you can communicate with others freely'." It was the first time any of them had heard the girl from Mercury's voice. Up until then, she hadn't spoken a word. Minako nodded._

_"That doesn't seem to be your expertise, Mars. It is, however, mine. Communicating with people has always been my specialty."_

_"That still doesn't proclaim you leader, Minako. We all have just a good as chance as you, with or without great 'social skills'," The Princess of Jupiter, Makoto, chimed in. "I'm with the Princess of Mars on this one. I think combat experience is essential."_

_Minako walked over to Rei, her eyes serious and her mouth in a firm line. Rei looked back at the girl, mirroring the same look._

_"We shall see."_

Rei tossed in her sleep. She wanted to wake up, but she couldn't. Her memories wouldn't let her—_Mars_ wouldn't let her.

_The two princesses panted heavily, both either burned or bleeding severely._

_"Give it up," Sailor Venus got out in-between breaths. "I've won, Mars."_

_Sailor Mars swallowed and then allowed another gasping breath to escape her lips._

_"N-no. I...I'm the better soldier. I deserve to be leader! Not you...not...you. You...no experience...I'm...better...senshi."_

_With that, Mars collapsed into Venus' arms. Venus readily caught her, smiling weakly as she too fell onto the ground. She looked down at Mars' sleeping form resting on her stomach, feeling guilty for all of the cuts, gashes, and slices that could scar from this 'Battle to the Death'; or rather, 'Battle of the Inner Planets' to determine who would lead the senshi. A battle to the death was what it had become. The last thing she heard before she passed out were medics rushing over to the two teens._

_Rei awoke the next morning-was it the next morning?- to see a sleeping figure at her bedside. At first her vision was hazy, and it took her a few seconds to get used to the severe light in the room. She blinked her eyes several times and rubbed them violently until her normal vision returned. The figure, which was kneeling on the floor, appeared to have long blonde hair that was a shade darker than Princess Serenity's. The only other person she knew with blonde hair was—_

_"Oh, Mars." Minako picked her head up from Rei's hospital bed. She brought a hand up to cover her mouth as she yawned and flicked her other hand to crack her wrist. "It's about time you woke up."_

_Rei struggled to push herself up, and she soon realized why it was such a struggle. She fell back onto the pillow and examined her cast-clad arm. She tried to move her fingers the slightest bit, but it hurt too much to do so. She grunted and let her arm drop back onto the bed, momentarily forgetting due to her aggravation that she was grunting _because_ of her injured arm. Minako chuckled at her._

_"Here, I'll help you." As she tried to reach behind Rei, Rei pushed her away._

_"I don't need anyone's help. Especially _yours_."_

_Minako threw her arms up in defeat and headed for the door. _

_"I try being kind and compassionate and this is what I get? Whatever, I'm out of here," she mumbled to herself._

_"Venus, wait!" The Venusian Princess let go of the door knob but didn't bother to look at the person calling her._

_"What?"_

_Rei looked at the flower pattern on the blanket covering her. She began tracing the outline of it with her index finger._

_"Why were you... How come...you-"_

_"Why was I waiting at your bedside?" Minako turned her head so that she could see the dark-haired girl out of the corner of her eye._

_"Yes." Rei looked up. "Why were you?" Minako shrugged._

_"I thought it was my duty as leader to watch over you and make sure that you woke up alright. You were...very badly injured." She felt a pang of guilt stab her in the stomach. She recalled when the doctors told her the senshi of fire might not wake up for a whole year, and that she was lucky to get a way from their battle with her life. Minako vowed from that day on, after sparring practices and guard duty, she'd remain by Rei's bedside until she woke from her coma. There would be no playtime for the Venus native._

_Lucky, the 'coma' was only a concussion, and it'd only lasted a mere week. Doctors _always_ wanted to make everything seem hopeless, she was convinced._

_"...But now that I've been selected as leader, I think we should put all of this behind us. It's time that we start working as comrades. Got that?"_

_"You were selected as leader?" Rei scoffed and attempted to cross her arms, which didn't go over too well. "Very well, then. I'll accept you as my leader, but not as my friend." Minako smirked._

_"Right."_

Rei awoke suddenly, sweat dripping down her temples. She sat up, viewing her surroundings and the strange bed she was lying in. She looked down at her clothes, and that's when it hit her. She was in Minako's hotel room.

"That's right," she spoke out loud. "The hot tub--I passed out in there. The past life memories, my dreams... They're finally coming back to me." She wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

"It seems things weren't too different from how they were 8 years ago. I'm not sure if that's good or bad."

She sighed and shook her head. At least her headache was gone for the time being. It seemed the past life just wanted to pump a few memories into her brain that night. But, why were they all semi-negative regarding she and Minako? Shouldn't they be positive, even in the slightest? She hoped, no _prayed _to Kami-sama that if Mars wanted to show her more memories, that they'd lighten up, because right now, she was totally unsure of how she and Minako ever came to being best friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure you don't want me to drop her off at the temple? She might become upset if she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings," Ami said. Minako shook her head.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine. She might want to talk after she wakes up, and I think I'd be the best person for her to talk to." Ami smiled and nodded.

"Goodnight then." The two exchanged hugs before the prestigious doctor left the hotel and headed home. Minako pulled a good size of cash out of her jean pocket and handed it to the hotel clerk standing at the entrance. He wasn't exactly sure how to respond towards the generous donation, so he bowed repeatedly, sputtering out his thanks over and over again. The dark-haired pop-idol bowed as well and flashed him a grateful smile before saying goodnight and entering the elevator another hotel clerk was holding for her.

"You can remain down here, I don't need any assistance. Goodnight." Minako pulled out some more money and handed it over to the reddening man. She pushed the button for the fifth floor and leant against the golden colored wall, letting out a tired sigh.

"What do you think she's remembered?" The white plushy cat in her arms, Artemis, asked. Minako closed her eyes.

"I don't know. Hopefully the good times everyone had on the moon."

"Do you remember the first memory you regained all those years ago?"

A small smile graced Minako's lips.

"Hai. It was when I met Princess Serenity for the first time. She was babbling on about how she and I were going to become best friends and have slumber parties. As I recall, she was into karaoke very much then, too." She opened her eyes to see what floor they were on. The third.

"_She_ still hated singing back then as well. I have no idea why. She has an amazing voice."

"Some people aren't into sharing their talents with the world like you are, Minako. Rei comes off as self-conscious, even though it plays off of her confidence. I think she has to push herself to be confident sometimes," Artemis stated. "Mars was the same way." The shiny elevator doors opened and Minako walked out.

"I find it endearing. Even though we're both two different grown women, we still haven't grown out of our senshi traits." Artemis rolled his eyes.

"Don't I know it..."

Minako slipped her key card into the slot and opened the door to her room when the red light turned green. She shut the door behind herself, and noticed how the room was eerily quiet. She gulped and set Artemis on the ground. She took a slow walk around the corner, undoubtedly nervous about her former comrade laying on the bed. To her surprise, Rei was sitting up-right in the bed, her legs tucked under her backside.

"Mars?" Minako called out. Artemis waddled closely behind her.

Rei clenched her fists together and looked up at the singer. Minako expected to see anger on the girl's face, maybe even resentment... But no, she was wrong. There was nothing more than sadness.

"Please, Minako... Call me Rei, or even that silly nickname Reiko... Just not Mars," she said. Minako wasn't sure if that was normal Rei, or if that was fragile Rei, who'd just remembered something unpleasant about her past self.

"Mm. How are you feeling?" She took a seat on the edge of the bed. The dark-haired priestess shook her head.

"I'm not even sure how I feel right now. I'm so confused, and I-I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be happy I'm remembering these things or angry that these memories arrived so late. I thought I'd escaped them, but I guess not. They haven't showed me much besides-" Rei cut herself off, suddenly realizing something. Minako felt that familiar pitter-patter in her chest, that unbearable fear which she wasn't particularly used to. The only time she felt this way was when she was around Rei.

"So _that's_ what Mars is doing." Minako bit her lip and looked away from her friend.

"Mars wants me to realize that she's always going to be a part of me, and that I'll never escape her. I think...that's what these memories mean," Rei explained. The pop-idol shot her eyes up to Rei's.

_"It's my fault for building myself up to think she dreamt of memories about the two of us. I knew there was always a chance she'd dream about something else, but... I still feel like crap."_

"Tell me, Minako," Rei began, staring intensely into her brown-haired companion's eyes. "Is that...our destinies? To evolve back to our former selves? Are we ever going to live as anyone besides the Princesses of the inner planets? Will Mamoru become Endymion?" Rei's eyebrows furrowed. She held the flower-patterned comforter firmly in both of her hands.

"Will Usagi become... Will she become her past self?"

Minako's eyes wandered to the ground. She blinked several times before answering. Rei impatiently waited for a response. She knew that Minako's agonizing long silence meant the worst.

"Usagi will, in some ways, revert back to being the princess."

Rei slammed her fists onto her knees. She tightened her teeth together and let out a stifled growl.

"But she can't!" she exclaimed. "She can't! I don't care if I revert back into Mars, but Usagi CANNOT go back to being that unfeeling creature who cared about no one but Endymion! Why," she started, her voice wavering. "Why can't the past life just stay in the God damned past?!"

Minako frowned. _"Not all of the past is so horrible, Reiko. One day, you'll see, just like the rest of us have."_ Minako's mind flashed to a memory from their senshi days, about eight years ago. It was Valentine's Day, when Rei trailed Minako and found her at the Tokyo 'Institute', or rather a _huge_ concert stadium in the center of Tokyo. She'd just stomped away from the curious and bold fire senshi, exclaiming about how the girl was stalking her and she didn't want to be bothered any longer. But in fact, she wanted nothing more than for the girl to chase her. It gave Minako something to look forward to.

As she leant against one of the huge poles located on the outside of the stadium and tried to regain her strength back from one of her dizzy spells, she looked down at Artemis.

_"When Mars awakens... That's a day I'll be waiting for," _she declared to him.

Now here she was, watching the girl she referred to as 'Mars' come close to crying tears of anger, and she...felt somewhat responsible.

Minako tried to get a grip on Rei's shoulders so she could look her in the eyes and calm her down. It took a few tries, but after she caught a hold of her, Minako placed her hands on the sides of Rei's smooth face. The priestess composed herself as best as she could, slowly bringing her dark eyes up to the pop-idol's light brown ones.

"Usagi will always be Usagi. That person she became all those years ago was not the Moon Princess, but rather a being that she suppressed over the years. That being was deeply affected by Queen Metaria and Queen Beryl." Rei's facial expression remained sour. Minako noticed and tried to explain what she was getting at a bit clearer.

"However, without those two forces around, that other being will never re-emerge again. I'm guessing you didn't have any dream-memories with Usagi in them, eh?" Rei shook her head, and Minako smiled.

"Princess Serenity was just like our present-day Usagi. While she had more grace than her, their attitudes remain the same. Both were and are carefree, high-spirited, and both were and are always there when you needed-or rather _need_ a friend. What I meant to say before was that Usagi will once again become Princess, but not of the Moon. She will become Princess of the Earth, and eventually the Queen." Rei's jaw fell open. Minako grinned at her, caressing the former fire senshi's cheeks with her thumbs.

"Hard to believe, I know. You, Ami, Makoto, and I will be called on once again to become senshi eventually, and our lifetime will seem endless, even though it won't be. The more we change back into our old selves, the longer our lives get. The time for Usagi to become Princess of this Earth could be drawing nearer, and that could be the reason why your memories are returning.

"Some may displease you, but I hope that..." Minako took in a deep breath. "I hope that some of them make you happy."

Rei wanted to pull away from Minako and call her crazy, but she couldn't. Minako knew the most about their former lives-she was the _leader_ after all- and what she was saying...was more than likely true. Eventually Hino Rei would be swallowed up the Princess of Mars, and that scared her to death. While her life as Sailor Mars would gradually get longer, it seemed that her life as Hino Rei would quickly disappear, until she would be nothing but a memory. She took a long look at Minako.

_"Will Aino Minako disappear as well?"_

"You know," Rei said aloud. "I no longer think it's my past life I'm scared about re-living. No...It's not that. I just-" Tears stung Rei's eyes without warning, and she found herself trying to suppress a sob. Minako looked at her, noticeably concerned.

"When you died, I- I wasn't sure if I'd be able to put myself back together. I didn't know if I'd be able to be strong for the rest of the senshi, and take your place as leader. You were what kept me going, what made me stronger. It was the first time that I had someone like that since...my mother died. You helped me so many times to awaken and become a better person and soldier and I never even realized it. Being the angsty teen that I was...thinking that everyone was against me... I believed you set me up just so I could fail. But...you were aiming for the complete opposite. You were setting me up to succeed. By the time I finally came to that conclusion, it was too late to thank you. I think that I...I'm afraid to re-live _that_ life." A tear slid down Rei's cheek, but Minako was quick to wipe it, and any other threatening tears away. She could barely handle when she found out from Artemis that Rei had taken her death so badly, and cried the most and hurt the most out of all of the girls. Now, she was seeing it for herself, and she knew she didn't like it too much. It was making her own eyes well-up with tears.

"I don't want to re-live that moment from the life before Usagi revived us ever again. It's obvious you died in the past life as well, and there's only so many times a girl can take her best friend dying, you know?" She sniffed and added a light chuckle at the end, and Minako did her best to smile. Rei seemed to _love_ to joke about somewhat morbid things.

"You won't," Minako said. "Usagi and Mamoru have broken the curse that was set on all of us during our time on the moon. You—_we_ don't have to worry about _any_ of us dying ever again... At least not for a very long time. We're now free to live our own lives, even if to you, it doesn't seem that way. Someone helped me once to realize it would be best to live as Aino Minako rather than Sailor Venus. Now I'd like to give you the same advice. Just because these memories are coming back to you doesn't mean you have to start existing as Sailor Mars. You are not Mars." Minako found her chest tightening with those words. She swallowed. "You are Hino Rei."

Rei's tears grew stronger then, and this time, she allowed herself to cry fully in front of the pop-idol, and her destined best friend. She let herself fall into Minako's arms.

Although Minako was surprised at first, she too let herself cry. She wrapped her arms around Rei and held onto her as tightly as she could, as if that's all that mattered.

...As if that's all she needed to reassure her that one day, maybe sometime in the distant future, or perhaps in the near future...that Rei would love her back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was decided that Rei would stay the night. She insisted that she would sleep on the couch, but Minako steadfastly refused to let her, and instead slept on the couch herself.

The next morning, Rei awoke at 7 A.M. exactly, as it was a habit of hers. She decided she'd let the always over-worked pop-idol sleep in, and leave a note instead of waking her up.

Even though it was spring, it was unusually chilly. Rei shivered and shut the huge window overlooking Tokyo. She rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm herself up as she went over to Minako's sleeping form. The couch was virtually in the same room as the bed, and at first Rei found it hard to fall asleep knowing another person was in such a close vicinity to her. When she'd first arrived at the shrine, it'd taken her a good three years before she was able to get a good night's rest. Minako, however, was different. Before they'd fallen asleep earlier that morning around 3 A.M., they exchanged conversation from their respective resting places. Rei smiled to herself as she remembered how Minako had tried desperately to stay awake. When the priestess heard her pop-idol friend start to mumble nonsense about different types of farm animals and such, she knew the girl was falling asleep.

She brushed a stray bang from Minako's face, letting her hand linger for a few extra seconds. She debated on whether she should give her a goodbye kiss—on the _cheek_ of course.

After about two seconds, she decided against it. She wasn't completely sure why she'd had the urge to in the first place anyway.

Rei took a taxi back to her shrine. When she arrived, she climbed up the stairs only to see the shrine desolate, spare a few crows. The high school students who volunteered to work there every weekend were missing. All that remained were a few lonely brooms leaning against various walls of the shrine.

Rei narrowed her eyes as she scanned the temple for further inspection. It looked like people had scurried off only moments ago. That's when she heard a familiar female voice.

"Kamada-kun! You're so strong!" Rei leant over and poked her head out so she could hear better. "I can't even carry one bucket down the stairs without have trouble!"

"Kamada-kun, would you like me to make you some breakfast? We have plenty of food here!" came another female voice, again, _veryfamiliar._

"I'll help!" a third girl shouted.

_"Kamada-kun?" _Rei thought to herself. _"I haven't heard anything about a 'Kamada' stopping by this morning."_ She sighed angrily. "Those girls better not have brought a man into my shrine, especially without permission."

The priestess entered the shrine, deeply irritated by how her students were just standing around and not cleaning, or...praying. Instead, it sounded like they were ogling over this 'Kamada'.

She headed for the kitchen because of the mention of breakfast, but was greeted by waves of laughter coming from a room that was OFF-limits to the girls, and mostly ANYONE but Rei and a miko named Mayumi. She furrowed her eyebrows. That was _her_ room, and now there were not only giddy high school girls lounging around in there, but a stranger as well. They'd surely be reprimanded for _this_ stunt...

Rei strode into the fire room, making sure to pick her feet up and bring them down heavily to make her presence known. As expected, there were the three girls sitting on their legs in a small circle, and a man sitting Indian-style next to the eldest girl. A very _good-looking_ man.

"What are you doing?" she asked, eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms tightly together to emphasize her annoyance. Simultaneously, the girls gasped and picked themselves up off the floor faster than Rei and her friends _ever_ had in their senshi days.

"H-Hino-san!" a petite, fair-skinned girl with short hair exclaimed, eyes wide. The three high school girls bowed repeatedly and sputtered out a bunch of excuses and apologies at the same time, which agitated Rei further. She grabbed the bride of her nose with her thumb and index finger and let out a sigh.

"All of you, calm yourselves down. You can explain to me what's going on individually. All of this yelling is make my head hurt."

Truth be told, she knew what was really causing the headache. This was a another 'memory headache', her second one that morning. Luckily, she was able to ignore the one she got on her ride home from Minako's hotel in the taxi, but this one was coming on strong. Because she was beginning to see images of Mars and the other senshi every time she closed her eyes to blink, she did her best to blink as little as possible. However, her eyes were already turning red and burning horribly. She realized the position she was in at that moment made her look like she was about to break down and cry, so she quickly withdrew her hand from her nose and settled on her stance from earlier: Arms crossed and legs firmly planted.

"Gomen ne, Hino-san! Kamada-kun," the eldest and tallest girl gestured over to the rising man. "H-He wanted to see you and I—_we _thought you'd be in here, b-but you weren't."

"So what is your excuse for remaining in here?"

"We-"

"Hino-san," the man, Kamada, said. He bowed his head and then brought his eyes up to meet Rei's. Rei was taken aback by the color of his eyes. They were so familiar, so...warm. So much like-

"Ohayo. I'm Kamada Yuuichiro. Sorry for showing up unexpectedly, but I needed to see the head priest immediately. It's urgent."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Sailor Mars and Venus plushies for everyone, yay::throws them into crowd:: I originally had a _huge_ fight go down between Mars and Venus on the moon, but I decided to take it out and only keep part of it for another chapter. I came to the conclusion that while there was a lot of tension brewing between the two, they wouldn't act out violently in such a public place (the scene took place at a ball). I didn't and I'm not going to go too deep into thier past, because there are already plenty of good fics dealing with Rei and Minako and their time on the moon. Only significant memories will pop up every now and then. While Rei and Minako will continue to regain/think about memories, none of the memories will get too in-depth and deep. I'll try to stay in the 'present' as much as I can. :-)

And yes, that IS the Kamada Yuuichiro (or Chad) from the anime. For those of you who don't know, he was the closest thing to being a romantic interest for Rei (besides Mamoru) in the anime. I was never really that fond of him, just because I thought she could get someone _way_ better, but he's an all-around good guy. His personality will probably differ somewhat from that of the anime (hey, it's PGSM anyway! everyone seems to be different in that!), but not too much. Let's just put it this way... He'll prove to be competition for Rei's heart. And, we all know how Minako is when it comes to competitions, especially concerning Rei... Thanks again!

P.S. Sorry for any grammatical errors!


	10. We Can Only Do Now

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM in any way, shape, or form.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There is no head priest here anymore. I am the owner of this shrine. What is this emergency?"

The truth was, she didn't care. Usually she was very kind to all sorts of strangers, but this man overstepped a boundary, and they'd only just met. She wanted him gone, and fast.

"I used to be an apprentice for the head priest many years ago when I was a kid. My parents wanted me to be a priest and work at my grandfather's temple when I became old enough, but I didn't want to, so I left. I did leave my parents, but not this shrine." He looked it over, a fond smile on his face.

Now that Rei examined the man more closer, he did look like the rebellious type. His hair was longer than normal men his age-which would be around 27-28?- he had some stubble, and his shirt had some type of American band logo on it. His baggy blue jeans were ripped in different places, and that was a fashion statement that baffled Rei—she didn't get it. His 'rebellious' look was finished off with a guitar placed gently against the wall. She sure as heck didn't play the guitar, so she knew it had to be his.

Though she didn't quite understand his fashion sense, she knew that if she was _really_ into men, he'd be the type of guy she'd go for. She rolled her eyes. She realized she was one of those girls who had 'things' for musicians.

"I'm sorry, but the priest never mentioned a Kamada Yuuichiro to me."

Rei squinted her eyes skeptically at the man standing before her. She'd been at the shrine for many, many years, yet she did not remember Yuuichiro. If she was correct, he would have been around ten or eleven when she arrived. He surely couldn't have left the shrine and lived on his own at such a young age. He _had_ to be lying...

Rei crossed her arms and slowly paced around him.

"I've lived here since I was four, Kamada-san, and I don't seem to recall ever meeting you. And out of curiosity, how old are you?"

Yuuichiro stood his ground. He knew what she was doing.

"I'm twenty-eight." Rei clicked her teeth together and nodded.

"Ah. I see. So you left the shrine and lived on your own when you were ten then? But that can't be possible. Go on, tell me why you're really here."

"I'll be honest with you. I have no where else to go, and your grandfather, Hino-sama promised me that if I ever needed a place to stay, I could always return here. And for the record, I remember you, Hino Rei." He flashed a toothy white smile, and Rei's eyes went big.

"W-what? How do you-"

"Your father left you here when you were four after your mother died. I remember you telling me he was just dropping you off here for a visit and that he'd been back soon, but he never came back. You didn't sleep for weeks...you just waited at the door until you realized that he wasn't coming back."

Rei clenched her teeth together. _She_ didn't remember doing that, but she knew it was true, because her grandfather had told her a similar story when she was fourteen. She was upset with herself after he'd told her that. She didn't like remembering when she was so..._weak._

"If the head priest owed you a debt or promised you something, I apologize. I can't do anything about it."

Yuuichiro raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak.

"But-"

"Taka, Yumi, Kaori; Please escort this gentlemen out. I will have no further disturbances in _my_ shrine."

The three girls hesitated, looking back and forth at Rei, then Yuuichiro. Rei glowered at them. They instantly panicked, worried that Rei would call their parents and explain to them how they not only let a stranger into a sacred room, but flirted with the stranger...who was twenty-eight.

As they carefully started to push him towards the door, he easily escaped and put himself right in front of Rei, bluntly violating her personal space. She attempted to muster up the best glare that she could, but the height disadvantage she had was daunting. It was almost humorous how the two looked. She knew if Minako were to see this- Mars Reiko glaring up at a man twice her size, while he smirked at her- she'd roll on the floor with laughter.

"Hino-san," he said softly. "Onegai. Please honor your grandfather's promise to me. I'll clean, I'll wash clothes, I'll sell charms, I'll do anything. Just please, until I can get back onto my feet... Let me stay here. I'll stay out of your way and your business, I promise."

Rei could smell the scent of whatever soap he used on himself radiating off of him. Well, at least he had good hygiene. IF she let him stay there-which she wasn't going to allow- she was assured she wouldn't be rooming with a dirtball.

She continued glaring up at him, only to find herself melting at his cute boyish face and his confident smirk. Her glare began to waver. She turned away from him.

"Your words are not enough to convince me of this 'promise'. I need material proof."

Yuuichiro grinned and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thin, crumpled rectangular-shaped object. He held the thin object over Rei's shoulder so she could get a good look at it. She grabbed it, scolding herself for forgetting her glasses back at Minako's hotel. She placed it closely in front of her eyes and finally realized it was a picture. And lo and behold, there was her grandfather, a small boy who she presumed to be little Yuuichiro, and a little girl who was much smaller than the boy. It was...Rei. She turned the photo over and saw the word 'Home' written on the back. The kanji style used looked very much like the type her grandfather used while he was alive, and it was very distinct.

When she was quiet for at least a whole minute, Yuuichiro grew concerned he'd struck a wrong cord with the priestess.

"Hino-san? Do you believe me now?"

Rei didn't bother to turn around when she shoved the picture into Yuuichiro's stomach. He was caught off guard, but took it from her hand. The three high school students who'd been watching with keen interest looked back and forth at one another. They'd never seen something get to their priestess that bad before.

"You can stay here." The girls squealed out of glee, catching an angry stare from Rei. "But you have to uphold your promise to stay out of my affairs, and that you will leave within two months. Not only that, but I don't want you hanging around these girls. They're too young for you."

Yuuichiro looked over his shoulder and winked at the girls, but then turned to face Rei-who was now looking at him- with a stern look across his strong features.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"And," she went on with a scowl. "Seeing as you used to be an apprentice for my grandfather, you will resume your duty to this shrine and do daily chores. I will not accept any excuses, and believe me... I won't hesitate to kick you out without a second thought. Also, you're not to come into this room ever again. Now all of you, get out."

The three girls bowed and rushed out of the fire room, whispering almost inaudibly to each other. Yuuichiro bowed his head slightly, grabbed his guitar, and took one last look at Rei before walking out.

Rei stood there like a statue, her arms crossed and her scowl plastered on.

"Have I made a mistake, Grandpa?" she inquired into the air. No answer.

"Usually I'm not swayed so easily, especially by strangers, but... That picture... He has to be telling the truth. How could he have gotten that if he _is_ lying?" She sighed and let her arms fall to her side before lowering her head.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Mars and Venus stood next to each other as they scanned the ballroom area for any suspicious person or persons. Venus nudged her dark-haired comrade._

_"I apologize for teasing you so much these past couple of weeks." Mars scoffed._

_"I don't. You deserved every word I said to you. I suppose people don't teach manners on Venus, hmm?" The blonde crossed her arms and turned her head away from Mars._

_"Fine, then. I take back my apology. I didn't mean it anyway." The Princess of Mars sighed and went on with her senshi duties. Not much was happening at the ball. She almost _wanted_ someone strange to walk in so she could have at least a little fun and beat her frustrations out on the poor moron. She smiled at the word moron. Minako practically _defined_ the word._

_Although she was sure she hated the Venusian, she couldn't help but feel thankful to the gods the girl was there. At least she allowed Rei to settle in a little quicker at a place she had no desire to be._

_"Hey," Venus nudged to girl again with her elbow. Mars rolled her eyes, becoming irritated at how the girl always found some way to touch her._

_"What?" she asked, not even bothering to hide how annoyed she was._

_"That Prince Endymion and his generals are kind of cute, eh? Maybe if I'm lucky, one of them will come over here and ask me to dance so I can get away from you." Venus smirked, placing a hand at her side and the other on her hip. Mars half-laughed._

_"Maybe if you're lucky? Maybe if I'm lucky."_

_"Do you even know how to dance, Mars?"_

_"No, not really."_

_Venus knew she had a chance to openly mock the dark-haired soldier, maybe saying something like, 'Oh, I can tell. Your combat skills are a clear indication that you can't. You move around like a big gorilla.' Really, Minako had no idea how gorillas moved. She'd only heard about them through people who traveled to Earth from Venus. But with a name like 'gorilla', one could assume, eh? Or maybe she could break out into a fit of laughter, draw attention to the girls, and completely embarrass Rei. When one of the dancers would ask what was so funny, she'd say, "Oh, nothing. It's just that the princess of Mars dances like a bear." Again, Minako knew nothing about the creatures called 'bears'._

_But something made her take pity on the girl. Surely on Mars barely anyone knew how to dance. It was a planet based mostly on war and death... Who would have time for dancing? Venus, on the hand, was completely different. Dancing was a well-treasured tradition on the orange planet, and just about everyone knew how to. Minako smirked proudly inside. She was one of the best, second only to her mother. That's when one of her oh-so-brilliant ideas popped into her mind._

_"How about I teach you?"_

_No one spoke for a few moments after that until Mars chuckled._

_"No, thanks. It doesn't look too hard anyhow. All you have to do is move your feet back and forth, forward, backwards. If anyone asked me to dance, I could manage." Minako let out a mock gasp and then smirked._

_"There's more to it than that." She began circling around the girl, looking her over in a way that made Mars uncomfortable. Then again, if you just _glanced_ at Mars she grew uncomfortable._

_"You have to know where to put your hands, and where not to put your hands." She stopped her slow pacing right in front of her comrade, who was already making things awkward. Venus ignored it though, and continued on with her quest. If there was one thing she was good at, it was dealing with any type of person, whether they be the biggest priss in the world or the most insecure person in the world. Rei, strangely, seemed to be a good mix of both._

_"Pretend I'm a man. Or a woman, if that's what you prefer." Venus covered her mouth as she laughed mostly just for show, drawing an irritated sigh from the Martian in front of her._

_"Ha ha, you're hilarious. Get on with it. I'm pretending you're a-" Venus raised her eyebrows. A light blush that was thankfully almost unnoticeable covered Mars' face._

_"Oh, who cares? What would you like me to do?"_

_"Put your arms around me like we're about to dance. Let's see if you're _really_ paying attention to the patrons on the dance floor. No time to be shy!"_

_Mars gulped nervously and gaped at the blonde standing dangerously close to her. Was she serious?_

_That's when Venus leaned in and whispered into Mars' ear, "No one's watching. Don't worry about anyone seeing." As soon as Venus' breath hit her ear, Mars felt a chill go down her spine. She may have had deep seeds of hatred for this girl planted inside of her, but she wasn't blind. The title of the goddess of beauty fit her perfectly. This realization smacked her in the face many a time, and as usual, she grew even more self-conscious._

_Mars nodded in response. She put the side of her balled up fist to her mouth and cleared her throat before nodding once more for self-assurance. She stole once last sly glance towards the dance floor, spotting a man holding his dancing partner (who was a woman) around her waist. So with that, the princess of Mars hesitantly placed her gloved hands on Venus' waist. The Venusian princess was caught off guard; she was sure Rei would have went for the hands-around-the-neck option, but she thought wrong._

_"I guess someone would have to do it, anyway. Okay, good. It makes it easier for me to lead since I'm so accustomed to the formal position used between a man and a woman." _

_She looked at Mars with a raised eyebrow while the girl kept her eyes focused to the marble floor. She wondered why Mars insisted on standing so far away. They would never be able to dance with this much distance between them. Venus slipped her hands through Mars' long, silky dark hair and allowed them to rest on her shoulders, her gloved fingers playing over the back of Mars' neck. She moved herself considerably closer, and she saw her comrade take a deep breath. Although Mars would not keep eye contact with her, Venus kept her eyes focused on her partner's face. Her skin was so pale, so flawless—it was almost unreal, as if she were a doll packaged from the Moon. Her lips were full and a deep shade of pink, their color much like Minako's own. She smelled like the best flowers from Venus put together (usually one would think the combination of so many flowers would result in foul stench, but apparently that wasn't true). Why she smelled like flowers from Venus, one would never know. In any case, it made the princess of Venus more comfortable even if the hands around her waist were stiff and almost robotic._

"_You're very pretty, you know." Red rapidly covered Mars' face, matching the red bow on her Sailor fuku. Venus smiled and ran her hands from Mars' neck, over her shoulders, down her arms and then finally her hands. She took them into her own, causing Mars to stir and look at Venus, wide-eyed._

"_We're going to try the dance they're doing," Venus announced and gestured over to the dancers on the white shining floor. "okay?"_

_Mars grew nervous and she looked from the dancers to Venus, to the dancers, then back to Venus. She couldn't do what they were doing in such a short amount of time! She was certain with extra time, AT another time, she'd be able to master the waltz perfectly-on her OWN, of course- but right now, at such short notice... No, it wasn't going to happen._

"_Are you serious? That's great that you're a dancer-extraordinaire and all, but as I admitted to you earlier, I am not. Please, even though this would be a perfect time to embarrass me in front of all of the Queen's patrons, I beseech you: don't force me to do this. I don't want to learn, and I especially don't want _you_ teaching me. You're annoying." Venus smiled slyly._

"_You're the one still holding my hands. I let go a few moments ago."_

_Mars glanced down at the limp hands in hers and dropped them, whispering Martian curses to herself._

"_My original intent was to embarrass you, I admit, but now I want to help the both of us out. If a man comes over to us and asks you to dance but you decline due to inexperience, we'll be stuck together for far longer than any of us would like. I would truly like to help you." She let out a proud sigh. "I am, after all, the leader, and it is my duty to make sure that my senshi are well-taken care of."_

_Venus was lying partially. She really _did_ want to teach the raven-haired princess to dance, and not for the sake of humiliation, but rather for the sake of saving Mars from embarrassment when she-against her will- would be eventually dragged out onto the dance floor. She knew how pushy royalty could be, and while she knew she'd enjoy Mars' mortification to an extent, her conscience wouldn't let her stand by and allow it to happen._

_Meanwhile, Mercury and Jupiter glanced at each other then to their two comrades located on the other side of Queen Serenity's large throne. Jupiter was on guard, and not only for unsuspecting peoples entering the castle, but for the princesses of Mars and Venus as well. She'd separated them more times than she could count on her two hands from pummeling each other._

_Mercury, on the other hand, smiled to herself as she watched the two. Though they'd bickered plenty of other times, she could tell it was becoming a sort of comfortable bickering, and not really for low-blows anymore. It seemed to make Rei and Minako relax into their new lifestyles easier._

_She scanned the castle once more with her dark-blue eyes for anything out of the ordinary, then turned her attention back to her fellow princesses. Venus was laughing now as she gently shoved the scowling, blushing Mars with her hand. Soon after, the two went back to their respective posts next to each other at Venus' insistence. However, Mercury watched as Rei stole a quick glance at the Senshi of Love, and then ever-so-slowly, smiled.  
__-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_Minako smiled before her eyes followed suit with the rest of her awakening body and opened. She sat up, allowing her socked feet to rest on the floor, sending Artemis onto it as well.

"Ahhh! Man, Minako... Can't you ever warn me before you decided to make a show out of stretching?"

With her arms thrust out into the air as she stretched and let out a yawn, she peered down at her guardian. She lazily grinned.

"Sorry." She picked Artemis up and sat him in her lap. "I love good dream-memories. Not only do they put me in a great mood, but they inspire me as well. I've already got the first few lines to a new song memorized in my head."

"Let me guess, it was about Mars?" The white plushy cuddled closely to Minako as she stroked his head. The far-away look in her light brown eyes and her smile said it all. "Of course."

Suddenly remembering Rei slept over the night before, Minako hastily stood up, her jaw practically resting on the floor. Artemis crashed back onto the carpet and hissed up at his former-charge. Although he was a plushy, he was still entitled to pain.

"She's gone, Minako. She left early this morning around 7 A.M. I didn't speak with her, but I saw her writing a note. It's over there on the desk."

Minako let out a sharp breath. She was relieved Rei hadn't heard about the good dream-memory, but disappointed that the girl had left without even really saying good-bye. She thought after last night they'd established somewhat of a better friendship. Then again, she thought, it was very much like Rei to make you feel like you'd gained a connection, then leave you 'high-and-dry', if you will. But no, she wouldn't let Rei get away with leaving suddenly _that_ easy. She'd get her back somehow...

Minako made her way to the desk, strolling over casually as if the note didn't really matter to her. Artemis rolled his eyes.

"_She's just trying to fool herself, as usual."_

The idol picked up the note and opened it slowly, chewing on her bottom lip out of habit.

Minako,

Shrine duties start at 7:30 and the high school volunteers should be there by now. Sorry to leave without a proper good-bye, but I figured you'd understand. If you're not busy and you get bored, feel free to call me sometime in the late morning or early afternoon.

Rei

P.S.- Thanks.

Minako smiled to herself. Why bother calling? She liked surprising (more like irritating) Rei.

As she headed for the bathroom, she softly sung the newly-inspired lyrics to herself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usagi forcefully threw her hands onto the counter of the flower shop, startling Makoto and causing Motoki to let out a high-pitched scream. Both Usagi and his wife eyed him strangely. He grinned nervously and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Heh, heh... I'll leave you two ladies alone." Makoto nodded and smiled.

Usagi watched as Motoki scurried off, his head lowered to the vase of flowers he was holding.

"So how come you decided to storm our shop earlier than usual today, Usagi?" Makoto asked.

"Besides the fact I was bored because Mamo-chan took Chibi-Usa out early this morning while I was still asleep-the meanie!- I came up with a plan." Makoto waited a few seconds for her odango-haired friend to continue, but instead she stood there staring into big, dark brown orbs.

"A plan for...?" Usagi grinned widely and shook her head.

"You know, Mako-chan!"

Makoto raised an eyebrow.

"Um... Actually, I don't. Care to fill me in?" Usagi crossed her arms.

"You know, the love-love situation regarding two of our best friends!" Usagi sighed. "One's head-over-heels in love and the other is as clueless as a bunny."

"'Love-love'? I'm betting that you're talking about Minako and Rei. Listen, Usagi," Makoto began firmly, "I think we really should stay out of this-"

"No, we will NOT stay out of it, especially when young, innocent love is at stake!"

Makoto poked at a few flowers and shook her head.

"One's twenty-two and the other's twenty-three; grown women, Usagi. Plus... Innocent? Have you seen Minako's more recent spreads in _Candy_?"

Usagi cocked her head to the side.

"I guess not. Anyway," she leant in towards Usagi, who eagerly leant forward as well. Makoto lowered her voice to a whisper, a devious smirk crossing her lips. "We don't know what happened between them last night. I called Mayumi late last night _just_ to make sure Rei got home safely, but Mayumi told me that our little Rei never went home." Usagi's eyes bulged.

"And you know as well as I do that she _hates_ sleeping anywhere other than in her bed at the shrine, so she must have been reeaaallly cozy over at Minako's place if she never went home." Usagi giggled and playfully shoved the grinning Makoto.

"You sneak! You DO care about them just as much as I do!"

"But I'm not going to do anything about it. I know how much being pestered about romantic things can become annoying, fast." She mock-glared at Usagi, who cowered in fear. "This is between the two of them. Not Tsukino Usagi and friends."

Usagi pouted and took Motoki's old seat next to the counter. She propped her elbows onto the counter and rested her chin in her palms. If she could get those two together, she'd feel like she fulfilled some sort of life-goal that was only recently given to her. She hated how Rei didn't date and avoided romantic relationships altogether, because she was really missing out on something great. She wanted Rei to feel loved, but she knew it was hard for her priestess friend to open up to anyone, even in the slightest. She wasn't even sure if Rei ever even kissed someone before. Usagi smiled to herself.

"_Now _that's_ something she's really missing out on."_

While she was on the subject, she wondered if Minako had ever kissed somebody before. It was probable, especially since Usagi heard so many rumors about the idol's love-life through her 'tasteless, gossip magazines' (as Mamoru had called them) and the "Entertainment Nightly News" show. But then again, Usagi knew rumors were just that—rumors. Still...someone so beautiful, popular, and widely-known surely couldn't be _that_ prude, right?

"_Minako-chan said that she and Rei-chan almost kissed yesterday. That would have been Rei-chan's first kiss. Aww! Rei-chan is too cute!"_

Makoto wrapped a small pink and red banner with the writing, "Happy Anniversary" written across it around the flowers she'd been arranging. She stood back to examine her work. She nodded complacently and then reached under the counter for a large brown paper bag. That's when she noticed how quiet Usagi had become. It seemed that the girl was thinking very deeply, and that worried Makoto. Usagi thinking hard at _all_ alone worried her.

"Minako-chan really loves Rei-chan. She has for so many years... It's so tragic." Usagi sighed dramatically. "Unrequited love."

Makoto half-laughed as she carefully placed the flowers into the bag.

"I don't think this is a matter of unrequited love."

Usagi's ears perked up, her eyes once again growing twice their size with curiosity.

"You don't? Do you know something that I don't, Mako-chan? Ooo, tell me! Tell Usagi!"

Makoto finished with the bag and then sat down on the stool, facing Usagi. She looked hesitant.

"I don't know exactly know how Rei feels, but it doesn't take a braniac like Ami to notice there's something there." Usagi simply blinked.

"Or maybe it does," Makoto mumbled to herself. "It's obvious that Rei has some sort of feelings for Minako just by the way she looks at her. Didn't you happen to notice the way she was staring at her when she climbed into the hot tub? Either Rei was spacing out big time or she has some serious lusting after Minako to take care of. Honestly, I think after the incident up in Minako's hotel room, seeing her that way kicked her memories into overdrive. Ami and I talked earlier today, and she agrees with me."

Usagi gasped. "Hey! How come I wasn't included in that conversation? I'm your princess, and I demand you let me listen on every word that passes between all of you!"

Makoto chuckled.

"You were probably busy drooling in your sleep, _princess_. We didn't want to disturb you."

"I do NOT drool... Mamoru's a liar." Usagi crossed her arms and stuck her bottom lip out.

"He's-not-lying-but ANYWAY," Makoto went on, rushing her first three words. Usagi looked indignant but she didn't say anything, instead choosing to sigh.

"We're leaving Rei and Minako alone, and that's that. As Ami-chan said, 'If they're really meant to be together, the pieces will fall into place and everything will work out'. I agree with her completely."

Usagi uncrossed her arms and headed towards the store's front window. She peered out at the passer-by's and then at the TV store across the street. Having close to perfect sight, she was able to spot a familiar face on the television. It of course was one of the two subjects under discussion: Aino Minako.

A grin that could rival the Cheshire Cat's spread across her face. Her mind was made up, and she wasn't going to let _anyone_ get in the way of her mission.

Makoto spotted Usagi's crazy grin in the reflection of the window and grew uneasy. She gulped and then spoke up. "Usagi...?" She came out from behind the counter and slowly headed towards the girl. Before she was able to lay a hand on her shoulder,

"HA!" Usagi exclaimed, making Makoto jump a few feet.

"Eh?! What?!" The odango-haired woman turned on her heel and faced her friend, the colossal, overzealous grin still remaining.

"Operation: Minako-chan & Rei-chan's love-love, MAKE-UP!"  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Phew, finally done that chapter. Sorry it was slow and kind of boring, but now that it's over, the fun can really begin! The next chapter should have plenty of Rei/Minako goodness in it. ;) It's a bit difficult to find a way to get Rei to kind of 'give-in' to what she feels-especially dealing with Minako- but I'll find a way. :-D  
BTW, all of you reviewers and readers are AWESOME::bows down:: You all really keep me going, I feel unworthy. I hope I continue to please the majority of you, and I promise, I'll do the best that I can. Wo0t! More plushies for you all! .


	11. I Wanna Be With You

A/N: Yay!!! Thanks so much for all of the reviews! They were greatly appreciated. squee () Thanks to all of my oldest reviewers (not as in actually...old, just they've been reviewing from the beginning) and my new reviewers as well. I love you all! Please continue to review, it brings me much joy, and it makes Rei and Minako happy, too:D Anyway, I hope this chapter is to your liking. I originally wanted it to be much longer, but I felt the urge to get a chapter out now, and this is what I came up with. Ja! Oh, and by the way...check out my one-shot entitled "The Note", would ya? I didn't re-read it, so there are a few minor grammatical errors, but nothing too annoying. It's set in manga-verse, maybe with a touch of anime-verse. Thanks!

----------------------------------

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM in any way, shape, or form. Period.

----------------------------------

Minako's personal driver rounded a corner slowly as Minako looked out the window in search of Makoto's flower shop. She wished she at least had the number, or Ami's number at the hospital so she could've gotten directions, but she only had Rei's number and Usagi's. She'd tried Usagi's earlier, but there was no answer. She couldn't call Rei because her whole plan was to surprise the girl, not give her any hints she'd be heading over. Plus, the priestess was the whole reason Minako was going to see Makoto anyhow.

That's when she spotted it, "Kino's Flower Hurricane Shop". She smirked and shook her head. _Only Makoto..._

"Driver, please stop here!" The driver nodded as he slowed down and came to a complete stop. As he undid his seatbelt so he could get out and open the door for the idol, she stopped him.

"I'll be staying here for a short while and then I'm planning on walking four blocks to the Hikawa shrine. There will be no need for your services for the rest of the day."

_"Hopefully..."_ she added in her mind.

"Yes, ma'am. If you need me, however, please don't hesitate to call." Minako gave the driver a polite smile and nodded. She adjusted her fitted white baseball cap so it covered her chocolate brown eyes from view. Now all she needed to do was keep her head low and none of the civilians walking around town in the always-busy-Tokyo would recognize her. She placed the mute (for the time being) Artemis into her white bag and slung it over her shoulder. She heard him grunt, and whispered, "I'm sorry. We're almost in the clear."

The driver looked over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. "Excuse me, Miss Aino?"

Minako eyes grew but then she giggled nervously, waving her hand.

"Oh, it's nothing. Sayonara."

Minako hastily pushed open the car door and stepped out. As the driver said his good-byes and reassured her he'd be right there if she needed him, he eventually drove off. She sighed and looked down at Artemis.

"He probably thinks I'm insane by now. He's caught me whispering to you more than a few times over the past 9 years."

"You're the one who insisted the window separating you and the driver didn't need to be fixed. If anything, it's entirely your fault if he thinks you're crazy," Artemis replied. Minako stuck her tongue out at him and then realized the passer-by's probably also thought she was loony. She sighed and rolled her eyes before heading over to her friend's shop. "It's a waste of money. It could go to better things."

"Like you don't have enough money to fix a window..."

Minako peered in and saw Makoto with a customer, an air of friendliness radiating off of her. Makoto didn't even look as if she was faking it for the older woman in front of her either; she looked genuinely content with her job.

Minako grabbed hold of the silver handle and pulled the door open, a bell signaling her entrance ringing. Makoto and the customer looked over at her, but only Makoto recognized who it was. Her grin grew and she went back to chatting with the older woman. Minako thought she recognized the woman Makoto was chatting with, but then dismissed it.

She strolled over to some pink roses. As she listened to the rather boring conversation going on about what types of scissors were best to cut stems with, Minako reached up and ran her fingers over the rose petals. In all of the years of receiving various different types of roses from fans and business partners alike, she'd never felt petals as soft and as silky as those. They were strong too, Minako realized, when she struggled to pull a petal off so she could examine it more closely (she would of course pay for the roses). She frowned when the petal just would not break off from it's home.

"_Should I get these for Rei? I mean, they fit her perfectly: seemingly delicate, but really, she's so damn hard-headed, and refuses...to...budge!" _she exclaimed in her mind as she pulled at the petal.

She heard someone clear their throat behind her, so she turned her head to see who it was. She could only see his shoes because of her hat, but it didn't matter. The childish turtle laces on the shoes gave it away.

"Are you planning on buying those?" Motoki asked. Minako turned around completely and lifted her hat so he could see her face.

"Good afternoon, Motoki-kun." Motoki's stern business stance fell and he gasped.

"Minako-chan! What are you doing here?!"

The customer with Makoto broke away from their conversation and turned around to see what the commotion was about. Minako? Yes, that girl seemed very familiar the moment she walked in...

Minako noticed the woman eyeing her curiously. She didn't know what to do. She'd already been spotted, she knew that. Now it was all up to the woman on how she would respond. But, instead of freaking out like Minako thought she would, the woman simply smirked. She looked back at Makoto, who'd been holding her breath.

"It was nice talking with you, Mako-chan. I'll be back here sometime tomorrow morning to pick up my scissors. Good afternoon. And," her smirk turned into a grin when she looked back over in Minako's direction.

"Good afternoon to you, Motoki-kun, _Minako_-chan."

With that, the woman headed out of the store.

"Good afternoon, Tsukino-san..." Makoto murmured. She shook her head and sighed. She pulled off her apron and walked over to Motoki and Minako.

"I swear, Motoki... You're just as bad as Usagi!" Motoki looked up at his wife, his puppy-dog look coming into full effect. Makoto continued to glower at him, but after a few moments, she let up.

"Like I said, just as bad as Usagi herself... We're lucky that was Ikkuko-mama, huh?"

----------------------------------

Makoto's eyes widened with astonishment. "Rei cried in front of you?"

It was the fifth time Makoto had asked the question, and Minako was getting tired of answering.

"Yes, Makoto. Is it really all that surprising? I mean, she's cried in front of you, hasn't she?"

Makoto frowned. _"Of course... After you died... It hit her hard. It was scary seeing someone so balanced like Rei cave in. I lost hope for a few days after that."_

"It's just that I can't help but be surprised, you know? It seems like she tries to be as emotionless as she can around you, to the point of being cold. It's because she looked up to you, maybe." Minako tore her eyes from the white rose in her hand and looked straight into the brown eyes of Makoto.

"What are you talking about?" Makoto crossed her arms over her chest and leant back into her chair. She stared at the square wooden table in front of her knees, her lips upturning into a warm smile.

"We all know Usagi looked up to you because you're an idol, and she probably still does for that reason alone. But then we all know Rei looked up to you for a completely different reason. You're a natural born leader, a woman who can do it all. While your confidence came naturally, Rei's didn't appear until after your little 'meetings'. She wouldn't tell me what you guys talked about, but she seemed pretty irked about whatever you discussed afterwards. I always wondered why you two were at each other's throats the first time we were all together..."

Minako's eyes dropped away from Makoto and went back to the rose. She rubbed at the lightly-colored petal, and this time, it finally popped off.

"Ami once said to me, 'There are only two people in this world that can hurt Rei: Her father, and Minako-chan. Her father... That's understandable. But Minako-chan... That is one situation I have never understood.'" Makoto brought her body up and allowed her crossed arms to rest on the table. She made sure that no one (mainly Motoki) was coming towards the backroom that the two of them were in and then spoke.

"I know you love her, Minako-chan, but you need to understand something. Ami was right. You have all of Rei's feelings in your hand, and with the slightest slip-up, you could really destroy her. The damage her father's done to her has been dealt, but you still have time to fix her." Makoto let out a frustrated sigh and threw her hands up as if to signal defeat. Minako's head still remained down.

"I'm so horrible at stuff like this. This is one occasion where we need Usagi and her 'words of wisdom'."

"No, I understand what you're saying," Minako replied with a sad smile. Makoto raised her eyebrows.

"I know that everyone's concerned about Rei, but don't worry. She's strong, and always has been. That's what I admire about her most. I have...no intention of ever letting her down _again_. Even if she never loves me back the way I'd like her to, having her friendship would be enough. When she and I first met when were teen-agers, before she knew about my alter-ego... If things could go back to being like that, I'd be satisfied."

Makoto felt pity for her two friends. Minako knew as well as she did that things would never ever go back to being that way. There was too much history between all five of them now, too much pain. It was never too late to rebuild things that ensued in the past, and that's what Makoto liked most about life. No matter how many times she'd been left alone and walked out on, no matter how many times she'd convinced herself that that was the way things were supposed to be, someone would come into her life and change her mind. First it was Usagi and the others, and then it was Motoki. She glanced down at the gold band on her ring finger and smiled happily. Usagi and Mamoru weren't the only ones who had gotten their happy ending.

A scary thought popped into her mind. _"Maybe I should help Usagi out with her plan. It couldn't hurt too much...right? Oh, what am I saying? That's crazy! Usagi is crazy!"_ But still, she couldn't shake her own match-making ideas from her mind.

"Could I take a look at your flowers, Makoto?" Makoto broke away from her thoughts and turned her attention the Minako, her mouth struggling to get out coherent words.

"Wha, wha? Lookit wha?"

Minako stood up and slung her bag back over her shoulder, eyeing her friend strangely.

"Can I check out your flowers?"

"Oh!" Makoto exclaimed before breaking out into a fit of giggles. "Of course, of course! Let's head out into the main room!"

The confused pop-idol half-smiled before walking towards the open door. Makoto stood up, rubbing her temples and letting out a string of sighs.

"Now I'M starting to act like Usagi... Great."

----------------------------------

_Rei shoved a good heaping off the clothes sprawled out on her bed into her flimsy suitcase. As soon as she had everything she needed together, she was high-tailing it out of the Moon Kingdom as fast as possible. She clenched her teeth together as she grabbed some of her gaudy Martian jewelry and rammed the bracelets and the necklaces in with the clothes. At that point, she didn't care if they were damaged or not on the ride back to Mars. Her overly-wealthy father was the one who bought all of her expensive stuff for her anyway. He didn't even bother giving everything to her in person. He preferred sending scrawny little messengers to do his bidding._

_Queen Serenity's words from the first night of her arrival echoed in her mind._

_"Once you have pledged yourself to my daughter and my daughter alone, you are no longer allowed to leave. You live for her. You fight for her. You die for her. Anyone who goes against their promise will be severely punished not only by the Moon Kingdom, but their own planet as well."_

_Rei let out an agitated growl and threw herself onto her king-sized bed. She was stuck. Stuck on the last place she wanted to be. She hated being reminded everyday by the people of the Moon about how great family could be. How great it could be to have both a mother and father, or better yet, a father who actually _cared_ about you. How she'd never be lucky enough to have that._

_Being on the Moon also reminded her of how bad her social anxiety was. Friendship was never something she was good at, and it didn't seem anyone really cared to form a friendship with her. Perhaps they were frightened of her. People usually were, just because of her quiet and brooding attitude, along with her stature on the Martian royal court. But being a princess didn't always mean you got big extravagant balls thrown in your honor, or days dedicated to your existence. When her mother was alive, things were different. They weren't too much better, but they were different. More parties were thrown then, and more fun was to be had. Now Mars was nothing but a wasteland, ruled by a failure of a man. Her father._

_"Venus..." Rei murmured to herself, anger welling up her chest. "I hate her. Perhaps it's because...she's better than me in every way. But... But that doesn't mean she has to show me up whenever we're in public, and humiliate me every time we're together!" Her fingers dug into the bedding and she could feel her fingers reaching their flexing max. "I'm supposed to be the superior one! I've from Mars, the planet with the best army in the galaxy, only rivaled by Jupiter. What does she know about combat?! She's from the planet of _love_. That even SOUNDS wimpy. Why did she get to be blessed in everything? In family, intelligence, beauty... Argh! Now I just sound like a typical dramatic teen-ager!"_

_She calmed herself down, took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes. Using the meditation tactic her grandpa-a traveling missionary- taught her always calmed her down...for the most part. Her anger was something that always remained, but simple mind exercises repressed it for a decent amount of time. Five minutes later, she opened her eyes._

_"Alright, I'm sure I could get out of here somehow. I doubt everyone here is as loyal to their Queen as they say they are." She formed a bitter smile on her lips. "I guess I'm one of those people. There's a problem, though. Once I leave here, once I'm far away—where will I go? If I go back to Mars, I'll be condemning myself. My father would have no problem with cooperating with Queen Serenity and punishing me."_

_A light knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts. At first she stayed silent. Then another more forceful knock, along with a sigh followed._

_"Are you in there, Rei?" Rei furrowed her eyebrows. Of all people, why did it have to be _her_ at her door?_

_"I don't wish to be disturbed right now. Especially by you."_

_Minako rolled her eyes and leant her head against the door. She sighed again, making sure it was loud enough so Rei understood her irritation._

_"Listen... I'm sorry for what Serenity and I did. Really, it was my idea to play the trick on you, but she supplied the cushion. She feels really bad though, you know. She even cried because of it. If you pass by her in the hallway, please don't be too harsh towards her."_

_Minako stood there for at least a minute before Rei responded._

_"And you?"_

_Minako blinked. "What about me?"_

_"How should I behave towards you? Because right now, I kind of have the urge to kill you."_

_Minako pulled her head away from the door and grinned._

_"I could understand that. But I'm a person who likes to settle things face-to-face. Could you restrain yourself for a few minutes and let me in?"_

_This time Rei was the one to sigh. She wanted to tell the maddening blonde girl to go the Hell away, and to never EVER try talking to her again. She wanted to pound her pretty little tanned face in, and knock her perfect white teeth out...but alas, she'd never be able to. No matter how much she wanted to do all of those things, she knew she'd never have the heart to. Somehow, in some way...Venus had pushed her way into Mars' heart, even if it was unknown to Rei herself. With all of the teasing, the arguments, the disobediences on her part, it was comforting. Those things comforted her. She actually looked _forward_ to those daily occurrences._

_But what Rei didn't know is that Minako did to._

_With another puff of air making it's way through her lips, Rei stood up from her seat on her bed. She licked her lips and reached for the door handle. Minako offered her an apologetic and friendly smile wrapped in one, with some humor to spare._

_Rei turned away from her and took her seat back on the bed. Minako shut the door behind herself and traveled over to the bed as well, but made sure to stay out of the raven-haired girl's personal space (that happened to be rather wide, Minako discovered)._

_The two teen-agers settled into an awkward silence. Minako felt herself grow increasingly tense. She LOATHED awkward silences, and unfortunately, it seemed that Rei had a habit of bringing them with her wherever she went. Minako shifted her eyes over to the girl._

_Rei knew she was looking at her. She could feel those blue eyes on the side of her face, but she tried to act as if she couldn't. She tried to wait a couple of minutes before saying anything, but then again, patience was not one of her strong qualities. In fact, that was close to being her biggest weakness._

_"What?"_

_Minako shrugged and looked away, the smallest hint of a blush spreading over her cheeks. "Nothing. It's fun to annoy you."_

_"What was it that I sat on? It felt tough but...squishy. How exactly does that work?" Rei asked, sounding seriously curious. Minako couldn't help but smile._

_"The princess said it was called a 'gas cushion'. When you exert enough force onto it, a noise comes out of it—which resembles someone, uh...passing gas. It's from Earth."_

_Rei shot a disgusted look towards her blonde comrade._

_"Go figure."_

_"How'd you manage to slip off of it? You and I are similar in weight and height, and I was able to set it off. Why is it you couldn't?" Rei shrugged._

_"I didn't even sit all the way down. It startled me, and I fell on the ground before I could properly react. Oh and by the way,"_

_Minako raised her eyebrows._

_"Thanks for choosing me as the lucky winner of today's juvenile prank," Rei finished sarcastically. Minako smiled with a wink but Rei ignored her._

_"No one's going to care by dinner. You should-" Minako paused when she spotted Rei's suitcase more than half-way full. Come to think of it, she hadn't even noticed she was sitting on some of Rei's clothes until a bracelet poked her in the backside._

_"Are you planning on going somewhere?" she asked, looking suddenly solemn. Rei followed Minako's vision and realized her suitcase was still hanging open. She lowered her head and attempted at a shrug._

_"What would it matter to you if I was or not?"_

_"What?" Minako interjected loudly. "You're being irrational, Rei. You can't just _leave_ because you don't like it here. Believe me, I miss Venus and my parents very much, but I'd never turn my back on the Queen, and especially not on the Princess." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I'd have to report you if you attempted, you know."_

_Rei tried not to roll her eyes._

_"I realized that I'm not one to exactly go against promises, so..." She lowered her dark eyes to her calloused hands. She never liked how rough they became from her time at the temple on Mars, but she loved it there. The temple was her sanctuary, and what she believed to be her real home._

_Rei glanced at Minako's hands, noticing how smooth and well-taken care of they were. Her nails were a decent length as well. Rei wondered how she managed to keep them in such good shape, especially with the intense training they endured everyday._

_"So," she continued, her eyes still on Minako's hands. "I won't be leaving. But not because you said you'd report me! I know how smug you get when you think you've scared me with your empty threats, but trust me, you're one person I'll never be afraid of."_

_Minako smiled smugly. She'd notice Rei 'admiring' her nails, so she thrust her hand in front of Rei's face. Rei recoiled instinctively and gave the Princess of Venus a 'what the heck are you doing?' look._

_"I saw you looking at them. Thought I'd give you a better look."_

_Rei wrinkled her nose out of abhorrence._

_"My eyes happened to rest on them for a mere few seconds. That doesn't mean I want you shoving them in my face."_

_Minako didn't take offense; instead she took her hand back and pursed her lips, looking like she was thinking about something._

_"Let's have a sleep-over tonight after training sessions." Rei raised her eyebrow._

_"W-what?"_

_"I won't take no for an answer. You and I are through being rivals. Let's be friends, okay? Maybe then you'll want to stay."_

_"For you?" Rei scoffed. "Yeah, right. Being around you more often is just going to make me want to leave sooner."_

_"SO," Minako shouted as she stood up. She broke out into a little stretch and then peered over at the raven-haired girl. "See you tonight! Bring your pajamas and stuff to sessions, alright? We're all tired afterwards, and I don't feel like walking all the way back here."_

_"But my room is down the hall from yours-" Rei started, but Minako broke in._

_"We're going to have so much fun! Remember your stuff!" Rei frowned as Minako marched towards the door. She was determined not to let Rei speak at all with her strident tone, so Rei decided to remain silent._

_"Bye, Reiko!"_

_Minako did another one of her trademark winks and victory signs, earning a glare from Rei. The Venusian grinned in response as she left the room, slamming the door behind herself. Rei let herself fall roughly back onto the bed, letting out a sharp breath._

_"I hate blondes."_

_---_

_Minako plopped down onto her own bed. She smothered her face into her pillow._

_"What was I thinking? Asking _her_ to sleep over... Teh! Yes, this'll be TONS of fun."_

_She rolled over and her long blonde haired expanded over most of the bed._

_"She won't show up. She despises me. It's obvious by the way she looks at me."_

_But Minako found herself thinking about the look Rei'd given her earlier. It was an attempt at a glare (which usually Rei had no trouble handing out) but it came out appearing distressed more than anything. There was no doubt in her mind that that look was meant for mostly Minako than Princess Serenity. But why?_

_"We were starting to get along and got to talking more at Lunar Balls. We still have our disagreements during sessions, but...perhaps she thought we were beginning to form something like a 'friendship' already before I announced I 'wanted' one tonight. And I think... I really want one this time. She's so lonely. More so than I am, it seems."_

_Minako nibbled on her bottom lip. She didn't enjoy seeing that sad expression on Rei's face...not one bit. She'd rather have her angrily glowering down at her any day than to see that look again. That's when she made a decision._

_"We can help each other out. We're both lonely, and with Mercury and Jupiter already on their way to becoming the best of friends, that only leaves the two of us." She nodded sternly and then flung herself up._

"_I'm going to be the first one to make her smile. Sure, she smirks when I'm reprimanded by Luna or Artemis, but I want an actual grin. A big, dorky, full-on grin. I'll definitely make her do so tonight, whether she likes it or not! I'll drag her here if I have to," Minako spoke to herself, a wicked grin dancing over her pink lips._

"_This could be more fun than I'd originally thought."_

----------------------------

Rei absent-mindedly ran her broom across the same square repeatedly, her thoughts somewhere else. The outside of the shrine, along with the steps were swept at least twenty times over, but Rei hadn't noticed. She was too used to doing it and lost in her own thoughts to really care much anyway.

She glanced at the shrine entrance, debating if she should open the door to allow the spring wind to pass through. The wind was subtle, crisp—the only kind of wind Rei liked.

She was alone for the time being. The volunteers had left hours ago in the early afternoon (and for the first time ever, reluctantly) and Mayumi wasn't due at the shrine until six in the evening. Rei'd sent her new "apprentice" Yuuichiro on his first of many food shopping trips. She decided the moment she granted him his wish to stay there that he'd be doing every chore she _hated_, which mainly involved going out into the public. It wasn't like she had much money for a cab anyway, and the walk was twenty-four blocks away. While she liked a healthy amount of exercise, twenty-four blocks there and back was _too much_ exercise in her book.

But another good thing about having Yuuichiro around, she discovered, was that he wasn't expecting to be paid. In fact, it was more like he was paying her back for her allowance of him to stay at her shrine. So in any case-even though he REALLY annoyed her in the short amount of time he'd been there- he was coming in handy, and she was somewhat grateful he was around.

"But it's only been ten hours," she spoke to herself. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Great. Ugh... Two months is way too long. What the heck was I thinking?"

Propping her broom against the large leaved tree a few feet away from the shrine, Rei walked over to the entrance and slid the door open. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of her candles and incenses mixing with the Spring air. Her mind began drifting back into her thoughts from earlier. Her usually tense body relaxed.

_Memories of the past..._

_"I don't want them. They're not my problem anymore."_

_"It doesn't matter. They're as much yours as they are mine, Hino Rei," said her subconscious, which Rei presumed was Mars. She frowned and the voice went on._

_"Regardless of the role you have established in this life, you are still the Senshi of Flame and Passion. You and I are one being; Sailor Mars. We will always be the same person, tied to the same group of people for the rest of this life, and the ones that follow this one."_

_"But why show me these memories now? What triggered them to come on so suddenly?" Rei asked._

_Averting the second question, Mars explained, "I... have to make up for something I did in the past, or rather...something I didn't do. She deserves at least that much."_

Rei's eyes remained closed, but her eyebrows slowly went down.

_"'She'?" There was a brief pause._

_"Yes... Ve-"_

Minako climbed up the last of the shrine stairs, panting slightly. She was disappointed with herself; all of those regular dance routines and she couldn't make it up a flight of stairs? Well, more like five-thousand flights of stairs... But in any case, she felt pathetic.

She spotted Rei near the door, eyes tightly closed, her usual frown plastered on her clear, pale face.

"She even meditates with such a sour face?" Minako inquired. She looked down at her right hand where a dozen of white flowers were tightly wrapped up, a small lavender bow accenting the teeniest bit of purple mixed into the flower. She hoped Rei would accept them, and hopefully even like them. Even if she didn't, Minako would pretend she didn't care. Showing Rei she was hurting wasn't one of Minako's favorite hobbies. For the most part, she avoided it whenever she could.

She grasped the bundle of flowers more tightly, the plastic making a soft crinkly noise.

_Minako continued her search for flowers that she thought Rei would like, but to no avail. She was about to give up when she strolled past a bulletin board with pictures of different varieties of flowers tacked everywhere. Her eyes scanned speedily over some of the descriptions of the flowers. Most of them seemed to be rare and grown in different countries or in different parts of Japan. That's when her eyes stopped on a picture of a type of flower she'd never heard of or seen before._

_Makoto placed her hands on her hips and leant over to get a look at the flower Minako was ogling._

_"Ah," she said with a smile and then returned to her full height. "The Casablanca Lily. They're gorgeous, aren't they?"_

_Her pop-idol friend nodded as she ran her finger over to paper. She bit her lip in thought before turning her head towards Makoto._

_"This paper says they're mostly grown in America, but would you happen to have any? I don't think I could give her any other flowers besides these."_

_Makoto smiled apologetically and shoved her hands into her apron pockets._

_"We don't carry them. Sorry."_

_Minako's shoulders slumped and she cast her eyes back onto the picture of the lily. "They'd be so perfect for her..."_

_Makoto watched her friend for a few seconds, quietly debating with herself. She _could_ have the flowers sent over, but... Ordering flowers from another shop for her own shop was typically not a good move. However, if it was for a close friend..._

_"Motoki?" Motoki's head popped up from behind the counter, a childish expression on his face._

_"Hai, Mako-chan?"_

_"Could you call over to Marina's flower shop? I need to place an order for a dozen Casablanca Lilies." Minako shot her eyes over to Makoto, who grinned. Minako couldn't help herself as she rushed over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. She beamed as she repeated her thanks again and again._

Minako took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. She began her walk over to the brunette-haired priestess, wondering what her reaction would be.

"Nervous?" Artemis asked from his resting place in Minako's white bag. Minako kept her eyes on Rei, even as she answered.

"Is that what this feeling is? Nervousness? I'm not used to it," she whispered. "Even when I first performed in front of 60,000 people I didn't feel nervous."

_"Like Mars did to Venus, Rei seems to bring out feelings I'm not used to whenever we're together."_

Minako stopped a few feet away from Rei, unsure of how to begin the conversation.

"Hey."

Rei's eyes shot open at the sudden noise, and she almost lost her footing. She peered down at the woman standing in front of the shrine's porch, feeling surprised and relieved to discover it was in fact Venus—or rather, Minako.

_"Damn... Those memories are getting me confused with the present. That's Minako, REI. MI-NA-KO!"_

"Minako," she spoke aloud. "What are you doing here?" Rei did her best to regain her usual aloof attitude, but with the night before still fresh in her mind, it was hard to act in a way which she was starting to question was really 'herself'.

"I decided to surprise you. Am I interrupting something? You looked pretty...out there. Meditating?" Minako noted how Rei appeared fidgety. Was she anxious? Anxious about what? And why?

"U-um, yes. And you know I don't like surprises. Try calling next time, ok?"

Minako smirked. "I thought you didn't wait around for me to call? I remember from past experience that showing up unexpectedly proves to be more effective. Apparently that's still the case."

Rei silently cursed herself for being so fidgety before pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. Her headache was back.

"Are you alright?" Minako asked, her brows wrinkling in concern. She stepped forward but paused when Rei walked down from the porch. Rei stood in front of the idol and brought her hand back to her side before making eye contact with Minako.

"What took you so long?" Even as she said this, Rei remained...Rei. Minako slightly smiled.

"I had to stop somewhere before I could get over here. Wake me up next time instead of leaving a little note, alright? Believe it or not, I _am_ a morning person." Rei blushed and looked elsewhere.

"Next time?" Minako only stepped closer and the innocent expression remained on her face. Out of instinct, Rei looked for the source of the crinkling plastic sound, only to realize it was coming from Minako's hand. Minako brought the flowers up and offered them to Rei.

"Here," she said. "I thought these would brighten up the shrine. It's been looking dreary lately." Rei ignored the sentence she would normally take as an insult and instead stared at the flowers. She recognized immediately what kind of flowers they were. Anyone could say they looked like any other lily, but their smell is what really set them apart from other flowers. The smell always reminded her of her mother, probably because the Casablanca Lily was her mother's favorite flower. And of course, as a child, you adopt this feeling that whatever your mom likes, you like too.

"You can take them, you know." Minako tilted her head at the rigid priestess. She never pictured Rei as the type of person to really space out, but twice today her theory was proven wrong.

Finally, Rei reached out and gently took the flowers from Minako. She brought them closer to her face, the distinct smell invading her senses. Her headache disappeared.

"Mama..." she accidentally whispered out loud. Minako raised her eyebrow. Was Rei going insane...?

"I-I'm sorry," Rei stammered, keeping her dark eyes on the lilies. "It's just that...my mom's favorite flower was the Casablanca Lily. I...feel nostalgic whenever I catch a whiff of them. Especially in the Spring. That's when she always grew them in her garden."

Minako hadn't meant to make Rei sad. In fact, that was the exact opposite. What should she say now? What should she do? She always had both of her parents, so she wasn't exactly sure how it felt to lose one (she sent a 'thank you' to Kami-sama many times for that).

"Rei, I-"

"'Rei'? Wow," A chuckle escaped her throat as Rei brought her eyes up to the pop-idols. "That sounds strange hearing my name coming from your mouth. You think it wouldn't be. Then again, you're the stubborn one who insisted on calling me 'Mars', eh?" Minako glared at her and placed her hands on her hips.

"What, do I say it funny or something?"

Rei waved her free hand in front of herself.

"No, not at all. Although you do say Artemis' name funny."

Minako heard Artemis laugh from her bag and she turned her glare on him. His laugh turned nervous and he quickly hopped out of the white bag.

"Rei," he simply said, inclining his head slightly. She returned his greeting

"Artemis. If you want, you can roam around the little bit of woods behind the shrine to get some fresh air. I'm sure it was stuffy in that bag of hers."

"Thank you. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, then."

And so Artemis trotted off, the sound of his 'paw steps' becoming fainter.

"Why do you and Art-" Minako stopped herself, frowning at the amused look on the priestesses' face. "that cat insist on ganging up on me whenever you two are together?" Rei shrugged.

"It's the least we can do since he and I seem to be prime targets of your little teasing fits and pranks."

Minako rolled her eyes. "I'm not _that_ bad."

Rei smiled at her friend. _"Friend..." _she thought to herself. _"After so many years, we're finally real friends. I didn't think I'd feel so...happy about it. But I am. I'm not going to tell her that though."_

Rei couldn't control herself as she moved forward to embrace Minako in a wispy hug. Minako didn't tense up, but she was certainly caught off-guard. She felt Rei's arms loosely around her waist, but they _were_ around her waist nonetheless.

Minako felt her breath become caught in her slender throat, and that's when she felt something inside of herself ignite. She needed more from Rei, whether the dark-haired girl liked it or not.

When Rei started to quickly pull away, Minako folded her hands around Rei's neck and kept her there. Rei was already blushing from the bold move (on her part) she made, but when her eyebrows upturned in confusion, Minako found her completely irresistible. She closed the space between the two of them, allowing her lips to hover over Rei's pink and quivering ones. The chocolate-haired pop-idol kept her friend's gaze, looking for the 'o.k.' to go ahead. She partially got what she was aiming for. Rei looked anxious, but in the adorable kind of way. She also appeared waiting and ready, a little gleam in her eyes which had been looking frantically at Minako's.

Minako was tired of waiting. She'd been waiting for two lifetimes; three, technically.

She lightly pressed their lips together, keeping her eyes open for a moment to see Rei's reaction. When Rei didn't try to pull away but instead shut her eyes, Minako's eyes slid closed as well.

Right before Minako was going to deepen the kiss, she heard melodic whistling. Rei pulled away hastily, making sure to avoid eye contact with the pop-idol. She clutched onto her flowers and moved a few steps away from Minako. Minako gritted her teeth together but tried to appear cool and calm as she looked towards the source of the whistling. A man with long, shaggy hair was heading up the stairs with three paper bags in his hands, continuing on with his song before he spotted the two women at the foot of the shrine.

"Hino-san!" he called out, slipping one of his hands out from under the bag and waving it towards Rei. Rei rolled her eyes and then imitated the goofy grin on his face, but of course only to mock him. After she was done, she went back to her normal scowl.

Minako narrowed her eyes.

Yuuichiro jogged the rest of the way up to Rei, completely ignoring Minako.

"I got everything that was on the list, Hino-san," he said as he dug the list from his back jean pocket and pulled it out. "Oh! Except ginger. I had to run to the larger grocery store for that one, but I got it!"

"Have you forgotten your manners?" Rei asked him, not bothering to hide her glare. He looked confused, but then spotted Minako in her t-shirt and rather short, blue-jean skirt.

"Huh? Oh, gomen ne. That was rude of me, wasn't it?" Minako forced a polite smile and a bow as Yuuichiro inclined his head slightly at her, flashing a toothy grin. As he examined her for a couple of seconds, his grin started to waver. Then his eyes bulged.

"A-Aino Minako! W-what?! What are you doing here?! You know Hino-san?!" Minako didn't lose her smile as replied with a,

"Yes. We've been friends since we were teen-agers."

Yuuichiro struggled to form anymore words. His mouth moved, but no words came out. Rei sighed.

"Take the bags inside, please? And close your mouth. You're catching flies."

Yuuichiro tore his eyes away from Minako and looked at Rei. He nodded a few times, stammering out, "Hai," before rushing inside.

"Is that one of your volunteers?" Minako questioned curiously. Rei shook her head as she began to pace a few steps here and there.

"No. He's a-" she paused. "I guess you could say he's a friend of the family's. His name is Kamada Yuuichiro. You two would have a lot to talk about. He's into music just about as much as you are." Minako scoffed and reached for her bag on the ground. Rei hadn't even noticed she dropped it. She must've when they were... Rei couldn't bring herself to replay that moment in her mind. Her lips still burned from the kiss. She found herself wanting _more_...and that scared her more than any youma _ever_ had.

"He's pretty cute. Do you like him?" Minako looked like she was an innocent, gossipy school girl again. Her eyes were big, and she came off as unassuming. Rei swallowed nervously as she continued pacing.

"No. He's nothing but a big buffoon with big, poofy hair."

"So that means I could go after him if I wanted to?"

"W-what?"

Minako smiled deviously.

"I'm only kidding. But really... You two would make a cute couple." She put a finger to her lips and looked to the sky. "Yep, I can see it now. You two lovebirds running the shrine together with little Rei's and poofy-haired boys running around. The perfect family."

"Shut up," Rei demanded, her eyes threatening to burn a hole into the annoying pop-idol in front of her. Minako winked and smiled at her.

"So why's he here anyway?"

"He had no where else to go. I'm ruefully letting him stay here for about two months. He showed up this morning, apparently. I found him in my fire room with the three female volunteers."

"Sounds kinky," Minako joked.

"You're really pushing it today, you know that?" Rei smirked. Minako was about to reply, when a male voice called out to Rei.

"Hino-san? I'll get dinner started, okay? I'm a really good cook!" Yuuichiro shouted from inside the shrine before he arrived at the door. He grinned at Rei who simply shrugged in response. When Rei turned her back on him, Minako noticed Yuuichiro look at Rei in a very _familiar_ sort of way. He was admiring her, it seemed. Admiring _her_ Rei.

He was longing for her the way Venus used to long for Mars. The way Minako longed for Rei all those years.

Minako came to a decision. She'd be pro-longing her stay.


	12. Everything Came From Your Smile

A/N: Here it is! Finally! First off, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love you all! After the next chapter, I'll be sure to personally address everyone and stuff. Secondly, sorry that this update took so long, by the way. I've been distracted and really busy lately. But hey, at least I got a one-shot out of it. And for reviewing "The Confession", thanks you guys! You're awesome!! This chapter is ehh... so-so, but I think the next one should be _pretty_ good... D And everyone! Some good ReiMinako stories have been coming out lately on here, so you all should check them out! On with the story!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon/PGSM in any way, shape, or form.

--

"Why can't I drive?" Usagi asked, her eyes big and taking on an innocent shine. Makoto kept her eyes on the road and her hands firmly on the steering wheel.

"You know why. You almost _killed_ us fives times in the past two weeks, including those two times with Rei and Minako. I know you've been really excited since you finally got your driver's license three weeks ago, but maybe you should just let me drive. Stick to driving Mamoru around... But not chibi-Usa!"

Usagi puffed her lips up into an indignant pout.

"Mamo-chan loves my driving." Makoto gave a slight chuckle.

"And how do you know that? Did he tell you?"

Usagi crossed her arms. She opened her mouth then closed it again, obviously hesitating.

"Well...no, but I can tell he does by the way he smiles like this!" They stopped at a red light just at the right moment, and Makoto looked over at her odango-haired friend imitating her husband's 'grin' which looked more like a terrified child's mouth right before they let out a horrified scream.

Makoto stifled the huge wave of laughter threatening to erupt from her lips and snapped her eyes back to the road. The light turned green and she gently hit the gas pedal, resuming the girls' journey to a certain doctor's residence.

"What do you think Ami will do when she hears our plan?" Usagi inquired, her own eyes on the road. Makoto shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure she'll point out every flaw in it, or stay quiet, which means there's more flaws than we can count and she doesn't want to offend us. _Or_," she drug out the word, "she'll sit back and stay quiet." Usagi raised her dark eyebrows.

"You don't think she'll try to help us out? She's the only other person besides us that knows about Minako-chan's feelings for Rei-chan. And Ami-chan always wants to help!"

"I know, Usagi, but she'll probably feel like she's intruding on their lives if she secretly tries to get them together. Next to Minako, Ami-chan's the closest to Rei. She knows her boundaries and I don't think she'd want to cross them."

Usagi sighed and sunk back into her seat. It was silent for a few moments, but then she grabbed Makoto's arm and shouted, "MAKO-CHAN! IT CAN'T BE!" The car swerved to the right, then to the left, and Makoto pulled her arm away from Usagi to regain control back over the light green punch-buggy.

"Usagi!" she exclaimed, various car horns sounding all around them. "Are you TRYING to kill us?!" Usagi didn't answer but instead held onto her seatbelt for dear life, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

As Makoto finally steadied the car and got it back into the proper lane, she took a deep breath.

"Man, Usagi... How are we ever gonna take you anywhere?"

Usagi lowered her head with a sniff, puffing out her bottom lip. "I'm sorry, Mako-chan. I can't control myself sometimes. I'll try harder from now on to be a better driver and passenger...I promise!"

Makoto tried to suppress a smile, but she couldn't. The smile she was fighting turned into a grin, and she laughed. Usagi slowly turned her eyes up to Makoto. When she saw Makoto had returned to normal self, she beamed happily.

"Alright, as long as you promise. Now what was it that you were going to tell me? And don't grab me this time, please... For both our sakes," Makoto pleaded.

"Well..." Usagi bit her lip and turned her head from Makoto. "What if... Ami-chan is in love with Rei-chan, too?"

Makoto's eyes grew considerably in size, and she slammed her foot on the brakes.

--

Makoto dropped her hand from her throbbing head into her lap. She winced as she leant back into the comfortable reclining chair located on the left side of Ami's long coffee table. Her hand wandered back to her forehead, and she rubbed her brow.

Ami watched from her spot on the loveseat, located on the other side of the coffee table as she sat next to the (somehow) hyper Usagi.

"Wow! I can't get over how big this apartment is, Ami-chan!" the odango-haired girl exclaimed, her usual Cheshire grin in check, even with a silly bandage wrapped around her head. But Ami's focus remained on Makoto, who had a white bandage resembling Usagi's wrapped around her head as well, her bangs hanging over the front of it. The flower-shop owner just had a coin-sized bump, but Ami recommended keeping the bandage on for a few more hours. The pressure from the bandage would help the swelling go down quicker. Usagi, on the other hand, well... She wanted a bandage because she thought it made her look "cool"...

However, what troubled Ami most was the fact it was Makoto who had been driving and gotten into the small accident. If Usagi was in the driver's seat, then sure, Ami would believe that as being more probable. But Makoto...? Makoto liked to drive fast sometimes, but on an ordinary day she was as careful of a driver as Ami herself—_excluding_ the whole clown/Mio incident which had occurred years ago. What would give Makoto the urge to simply stop in the middle of the highway?

"You must get lonely living here all by yourself." Usagi turned her head away from the dark-haired doctor before standing up and examining the lavish-and expensive-looking- computer desk, with an equally impressive computer resting on top of it. Her big, brown eyes scanned over the new-age technology, ending their observations on a small stone sculpture. It was a mix between a gargoyle and a human, along with a horse. Usagi let out a small shriek as she backed away, pointing a wobbly finger at the "abomination".

"W-What is that, Ami-chan?! It's so...so scary! How can you sleep with it j-just sitting there?! Watching?!"

Makoto clenched her teeth and slammed her eyelids closed at the sound of Usagi's high-pitched voice. She let out an irritated mixture between a sigh and a growl and smothered her face with one of Ami's light-blue throw pillows.

"And I just got my license back, too..." Makoto cried, her voice muffled by the pillow. "The guy said I'd be suspended from even touching a steering wheel for the next seven months."

"Oh, that's right! I'd forgotten you had it suspended for speeding before." Ami raised her eyebrows at Makoto. "Is that why you were in an accident?"

Makoto removed the pillow from her face and set it in her lap. She shook her head as she let out a sigh.

"No."

"No?" That's when Ami heard someone cough next to her. She watched Usagi take her seat back next to her, but left a good amount of distance between them. The odango-haired woman folded her hands together then stretched them out in front of herself, yawning as she did so. She looked away from Ami's general direction, gazing innocently at the ceiling. Ami smiled.

"What is it, Usagi-chan?" Usagi's eyes grew and she turned them to Ami.

"What do you mean, Ami-chan?"

It was obvious that Usagi wanted to say something by the way she was acting—_anyone_ could see that. Makoto's impersonation of Rei's evil death glare aimed at the young mother gave more proof to that.

"I didn't get into that accident because of speeding," Makoto said, her voice dangerously low. Usagi gulped loudly, but still refused to look at Makoto. "Go on, Usagi. Tell Ami what you told me."

At this point, Ami was completely clueless. Makoto's headache was obviously getting the best of her, but she'd never spoken so harshly to Usagi before. Then again, she'd just lost her pride and joy for another seven months. Next to making food and flower arranging, driving was something Makoto _loved_. And, as it seemed so far, it was the former Moon princess' fault that she'd lost that privilege.

"Usagi-chan?" Ami asked softly. Usagi bit her lip and then slapped her hands onto her thighs, signifying she'd finally broken down.

"I...I, uh... Well, Ami-chan... You and Rei-chan are close, and I..." Usagi made eye contact with her friend but was quick to break it. "Argh!"

Makoto sighed and leant forward in her seat. "Usagi asked me, 'What if Ami-chan is in love with Rei-chan?', and that caught me off-guard, so I just slammed my foot on the brakes. The car behind us crashed into me, and the care _behind_ that one crashed into the one behind us, and... Well, I think you can put everything else together."

Ami's jaw dropped. Her...in love...with Rei?!

"Me...in love...with Rei-chan?" she spoke aloud. Usagi grinned at her nervously and shrugged. Ami took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. _"Where on Earth did she ever get that idea...?"_

Makoto grew wary when Ami didn't answer. She examined the dark-haired doctor closely, struggling with her words.

"A-Ami-chan?" she asked softly. "You're not...are you?"

Ami smiled. "Of course not. Rei-chan is nothing more than a good friend of mine, just like you and Usagi-chan."

"Have you ever been in love, Ami-chan?" Usagi suddenly asked, catching both Makoto and Ami off-guard. Ami found herself slipping back into her old teen-aged habits. She turned her head down to her hands in her lap, watching them cross and uncross repeatedly. She wasn't sure if she could really answer that question. What she felt before... She still questioned whether what she felt all those years ago was indeed love, or just a strong attachment to _that_ person.

Ami knew the moment she looked into Usagi's big, brown eyes she would cave in. Lying was something she was never particularly good at, and when it came to Usagi, it was as if the whole concept of even a white lie was preposterous. And after all, it was the owner of those innocent eyes who put the question of whether or not love existed into the young doctor's heart.

So instead, Ami looked at Makoto as she answered.

"I...don't think so." She bit her lip and shook her head. "No. I haven't." Usagi frowned sadly.

"We need to find a boyfriend for you, Ami-chan!" she exclaimed. "When Rei-chan and Minako-chan get together, you'll be the only one still single." Usagi balled up her fists at her chest and shot up from the couch, startling her friends. "We can't have that! Mako-chan, it looks like we'll be doing over-time for the next couple of months!"

"Oh, no," Makoto waved her hands in front of herself. "Your 'Operation: Minako-chan and Rei-chan: love-love' thing is enough excitement for me. Let Ami find someone on her own, alright?" Usagi crossed her arms and plopped back onto the couch, pouting her bottom lip out.

"'Love-love'...?" Ami asked. Makoto nodded.

"Yeah. It's the title of Usagi's love mission for Rei and Minako. She won't leave well enough alone as usual, it seems. But... They're kind of why we're here."

"Hey! _You're_ the one who called and told me you'd help me, Mako-chan!" Usagi retorted. Makoto rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, we need your help. We have a plan, but we needed your approval."

"My approval?" Ami cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Why mine?"

Usagi grinned. "Because you're the smart one! And you know better than us what kind of date Rei-chan would be into. Minako-chan is the senshi of love, so I don't think she'd object to any date we set them up on." She sighed dreamily and leant back onto the couch. "It'll be so romantic... Rei-chan will _have_ to admit her feelings!" Ami smiled at her former princess. She found it endearing how Usagi only wanted the best for everyone, regardless if they were good or bad. Her friends were the luckiest, though, since she was constantly striving to make sure that they were happy. Generosity and kindness were definitely traits from Princess Serenity Usagi had retained when she was reborn on earth, and Ami was grateful for that.

"What's the plan, Usagi-chan?" Ami questioned.

"Well," Makoto chimed in. "Usagi and I will watch over the shrine some time this week so they get to spend the whole day together."

"And," Usagi continued on, "We'll set up pre-paid dinner reservations for the two of them at that really fancy restaurant that just opened up in Central Juuban. Then... Well, we haven't gotten that far yet." Usagi and Makoto grinned sheepishly and turned to see Ami's reaction. Usagi was stunned but Makoto wasn't when Ami didn't jump up and down to praise them endlessly.

"Well... Rei-chan and Minako-chan spending the whole day together sounds like a good idea, and dinner as well, but... Something has to come before the dinner."

"Like an appetizer?" Usagi eagerly asked. Ami giggled.

"Yes, Usagi-chan; like an appetizer. I would say a movie, but Minako-chan would have a higher risk of getting swarmed by fans there, and Rei-chan doesn't really enjoy anything that has to do with the entertainment industry that much. Definitely not a concert."

Makoto scoffed. "Could you even imagine Rei at a concert? Sweaty people slamming into her, loud noises, fights... Heh, that'd be a sight to see."

"Rei-chan doesn't like anything! How are we ever going to come up with an appetizer?!" Usagi shouted.

Ami thought back to the night she and Rei had slept at Crown, when she was avoiding her mother and Rei was avoiding her father. They'd talked so much that night, and it was the first time Ami had opened herself up to someone so much. She liked to think it was a first for Rei as well. She never could have imagined Rei could be such a care-free adolescent much like Usagi, and just simply be happy. Even with her father's men lurking outside of the Crown karaoke, she lived it up as if the moment would last forever.

They'd talked about everything from school to the senshi; from Rei's dislike of singing to Ami's interest in medicine. Then the topic of Sailor Venus, or rather Aino Minako, had come up. Rei'd been dancing around it for most of the night, but when she finally started talking about her, it was easy to see she'd been thinking about the idol the whole night. She seemed frustrated, angry, irritated. She couldn't understand Minako's brainless actions, and why she wouldn't join the senshi.

"_If she's the leader," _Rei had said, _"then she should be standing next to us when we fight. I'm not going to be led by someone who I can't trust."_ And much softer, _"...someone who can't trust me."_

After that discussion, the two teen-agers had a lengthy silence come between them. Ami knew what, or rather _who_ Rei was thinking about, but she felt it'd be best to let the subject drop for the time being. It wasn't until Ami began to doze off that Rei had spoken up again. She asked Ami if she'd ever seen a Kabuki performance. Ami hadn't, but Rei was happy to explain every detail of it. She'd gone on to say how her mother would take her to a Kabuki show every other weekend until she became ill. When her mother finally passed on, her father dropped her off at her mother's father's shrine and promised he'd be back for her when the "time was right". Apparently that time never came.

Rei tried to give off the impression she didn't care all that much; that she was better off at the shrine anyhow. But, Ami knew that the wound her father had given her was still fresh, and pushing Rei to talk more about it would just be pouring salt all over it. Ami herself had an absent father, but she at least had her mother.

"How about Kabuki?" Ami said aloud, and both Usagi's and Makoto's heads perked up.

"Kabuki? Is Rei into that?" Makoto inquired, and Ami nodded.

"Yes. She mentioned to me once that's she very fond of it, but hasn't seen a performance since her mother passed away. If she were open to it, I think it'd put her in a really good mood and perhaps things between she and Minako would progress more smoothly through dinner and afterwards."

Usagi gasped. She broke out into a wide grin and clapped her hands together. "Great idea, Ami-chan! Ah, you're so amazing! I wish I could be that smart!" Ami blushed.

"You are smart, Usagi-chan."

"So, now all we have to do is set everything up," Makoto said. "Rei's going to be reluctant at first, but maybe with a little push, she'll give in. She's been more protective of her shrine than usual lately, but I'm guessing it's because of the lack of sponsorship. All we have to do is make sure we take good care of it." She looked at Usagi, who was glancing around the room and blowing air through her lips.

"Here that, Usagi? And we can't go snooping around Rei's room either," she paused. "Well, maybe a little bit of snooping wouldn't hurt..." Usagi grinned mischievously, her eyes sparkling.

"What ever happened with Rei-chan and Minako-chan last night anyhow? Did Rei-chan happen to go into any detail about her dream-memories?" Ami asked. Makoto shook her head, her light brown ponytail swaying slightly with the movement.

"Nope. And if she did, Minako didn't tell me anything about it. But it's so strange... A good chunk of _our_ memories were restored when we needed them. But hers... I guess like Luna said: she didn't want them."

Usagi looked between her two friends, debating whether she should let them know what was on _her_ mind. Something big was going to happen very soon, but the feelings she had about it were scattered. She wasn't a psychic like Rei, or as book-smart as Ami, but it was easy to see the normal life they had now would be changing not too long from then, and quickly. It was only a matter of time before the change begun.

She shook her head. They were having a nice get-together despite the small accident. Why ruin it?

--

She could hardly think, let alone feel much of anything. All she _could_ feel was a distinct and unfamiliar burning on her lips. The more she thought about the lingering of the idol's soft lips on hers, the hotter the room became. She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror.

Yes, Hino Rei's face was completely flushed.

She brought her right hand from it's resting place on the sink counter and ran her index finger over her reddened lips.

"_So... That's what a kiss is like. I guess it's...not so bad,"_ Rei thought to herself, running her finger back and forth over her bottom lip. _"I hadn't really expected it. Why did she do it, anyway? Maybe she thought I wanted her to... But still, she's never been one to do what _I_ want to do. Not that I wanted her to! Well..."_

The image of Minako's lips hovering above her own sprang into her mind. Her stomach did numerous flip-flops and she found it hard to breathe all of the sudden. She gazed into the mirror, watching as her lips parted slightly so that she could fill her lungs with some much needed air. She realized at that moment she was still the Hino Rei she'd once been. She was no longer an awkward, struggling teen, but rather a grown, somewhat awkward and struggling woman. She hated the fact she'd grown so much yet matured so little. But maybe that was it. She'd matured way before her time in her teen years because of the situation she had grown-up into. Besides her grandfather-who she rarely saw as time went on- there was no real adult guidance in her life; no one to show her _how_ to mature. All she really had was her duties to the shrine.

And that brought her back to her present 'dilemma'. Had she grown up with her mother, or at the least her father, would she still be feeling these torrents of unfamiliar emotions over a simple first kiss? At the age of twenty-two, no less? Or would things in her love-life had come out differently altogether?

Rei pried her eyes away from her image in the mirror, forcing them on the otherwise uninteresting stone tile which covered the bathroom floor.

"_So many people want to kiss her, but she kissed ME... It makes me wonder... Does she kiss people often? It may have been my first kiss, but something tells me it wasn't hers. It only makes sense though that it wouldn't be, I suppose... She's a pop-idol, and I'm betting there's a lot of pressure to be romantically involved with other various celebrities or—ick, politicians. And from what I catch from Usagi's babbling when either I go to her house or she bothers me here, Minako's probably... She's probably..."_ Rei's eyebrows furrowed._ "Has she...gone further than kissing?"_

Rei let out an irritated growl. _"But why wouldn't she? That's what women my age are 'supposed' to do; fall in love, sleep with a couple people, and get hurt repeatedly by those who supposedly 'love' them."_

She pushed herself off of the sink in one movement and faced the door, unconsciously taking a deep breath. She reached for the door handle, lightly taking hold of it. She exhaled slowly, and with a flick of the wrist, the door was slid open. Minako sat there with a manga in her hand, looking uncharacteristically interested in what she once told Rei she considered 'childish'. Rei raised an eyebrow and then walked over to the side of the low table, opposite to the idol. She ungracefully plopped onto the ready and waiting maroon cushion and crossed her legs together.

"I didn't think someone like you would have such a large amount of manga," Minako said, her gaze remaining on the book. Rei wasn't sure if she should be offended or not, but she kept her mouth closed nonetheless.

"I was surprised by it the last time I was here. I saw you as more of the 'Learn to Read Palms Like a Pro in Five Simple Steps' kind of girl." She looked up at Rei and smirked, to which Rei responded by rolling her eyes and snorting.

"I don't need a book for that. Priestess' should be able to read people by their body language, their way of speech, and most importantly, their eyes. You could read anyone by focusing on their eyes."

"Really? How's that?" Minako asked.

"Well... It's simple. Whenever a person begins to think, their eyes usually dart around, pause on something, then move around again. But if you watch closely, you can see dozens of emotions run across their eyes within those few seconds. When they look back at you, at least two of those dozens of emotions stick in their eyes. You just have to observant and be able to identify those emotions."

"Is that so?" Minako closed the manga and looked straight into Rei's dark eyes. A slight smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "So... Have you ever done that with me? Tried to...identify my emotions?"

Rei shrugged as she turned her head away. "Does it matter?"

"I'm curious. Humor me." Minako took notice of the tiny blush forming under Rei's cheeks and how she fidgeted.

"Yuuichiro probably needs help with dinner. He's most likely already made a huge mess-" As Rei started to stand up, Minako leant over the table and grabbed her wrist. Rei shot her a questioning look.

"On a first name basis already?" she teased. "I'm sure your boyfriend's doing just fine. It's cute how he got here only this morning yet you're terribly worried about him already. When's the wedding? Am I invited?" Minako didn't think Rei would catch the jealous undertone in her voice since Minako herself could barely recognize it. She admitted she wasn't amazing at acting-singing was more her forte- but the small roles she'd played in various Japanese soap operas _really_ paid off.

Then again, maybe she did have some talent in the craft of acting. She did, after all, convince a generally smart group of teen-aged girls that she was the Princess of the Moon for a good five, six months. She was sure she could have kept up the façade until the day she died too, but just because she _could_ didn't mean she _would_. Pretending to be someone she wasn't had kept her secluded for far too long. Minako didn't like to be alone. Her over-load of concerts and benefits, chance meetings with Usagi, and of course, her constant teasing of Rei to bait her to chase the idol were nonchalant ways to show that. Millions of screaming fans and ill-tempered priestesses were the only things that kept her sane after her tumor was discovered.

"He's not my boyfriend," Rei said, a glower directed towards Minako as she sat back down. "I don't trust him in my kitchen, that's all."

Minako continued to smile at Rei, further irritating the priestess.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Rei asked. Minako re-opened the manga and pretended to read.

"I had nothing to do after a local radio interview and I thought maybe we could talk some more about your memories. Plus, you sort of invited me."

"There's not much to say," Rei replied. "Besides the fact they've been giving me huge headaches."

Minako closed the manga. "That tends to happen. Try having a brain tumor and then those memories prying their way into your brain. It's not fun." Minako leant on her left hand while her right grabbed the manga so she could place it back into it's spot on the short bookshelf next to Rei's beside. Rei glanced over, her eyes trailing down to the smooth skin being exposed by Minako's hiking shirt. The shirt stopped shyly above her bellybutton, giving Rei a perfect view of the idol's firm stomach. She tried to rip her eyes from the sight, but she couldn't. It was _just_ her stomach... But still, the skin looked so flawless, and for a moment Rei wondered if the rest of Minako's body looked that smooth, that flawless... She thanked the gods the table was hiding the idol's legs, because if it weren't, she'd get a full view up Minako's skirt. Her heart sped up and she once again tried to pull her eyes away, but she couldn't. It didn't help that time seemed to be going slower and slower with each passing second.

Minako slid the book into it's proper resting place and sat up, pulling her shirt down. She looked at Rei, who was still staring at her. She raised a well-groomed eyebrow.

"Rei-chan?"

Rei was startled from her day-dream and shifted her eyes to Minako's.

"Hai?"

"You were staring."

Rei blushed and turned her head away. "Sorry, was I?"

Minako nodded, wondering if she should pursue her curiosity and question Rei or change the subject. She decided on the latter.

"So, can you actually read palms? I'm sure the shrine customers ask you to do that _sometimes_. Or did you bring up reading people by their body language and eyes because you _can't_ read palms?"

Rei crossed her arms and sighed.

"Of course I can. But I don't really believe in it. It's more for amateur, wannabe-psychics than anything."

Minako shrugged. "I think you're saying those things because _you_ can't do it. You just don't want to admit that you yourself are in fact an amateur." This produced the desired effect for Minako. She heard Rei grunt and watched as the priestess stood up and marched over to her, her miko robe swishing. Rei sat on her legs, directly facing the side of Minako. Minako rose her eyebrows and feigned confusion.

"What is it?"

Rei grabbed Minako's right hand with more force than she intended to, but Minako barely reacted. The idol smirked to herself.

"_Teasing always works with her."_

Rei studied the lines on Minako's hand closely, looking for the littlest ones first rather than the more obvious big ones that represented life and love. It was true she didn't believe in the whole concept of palm reading, but Minako had challenged her, and Lord knows she could never back down from a challenge brought on by the singer. Rei was determined to prove to the woman that it was all a hoax.

She ran her index finger over a small line running down from Minako's ring finger to her life line. Rei wanted to avoid her life line for as long as she could, but her curiosity (and concern) got the best of her. Her finger began to trace down the rather long life line, Minako's chocolate-brown eyes watching her closely. Minako tried to ignore the urge to shiver; not only was Rei unintentionally tickling her, but any touch from the priestess was enough to make Minako's heart do triple flip-flops.

Rei narrowed her eyes. "This is strange..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Minako heard it.

"What is?" Rei gulped and shook her head slightly.

"Your life line... It-It's longer than any I've ever seen." She took a look at a few more of the lines, noticing how the little ones were showing how Minako enjoyed singing, attention, performing, and...love. Rei traced her finger over Minako's extensive love line, the pitter-pattering of her heart increasing rapidly. That's when Minako's hand gently enclosed around Rei's own. Rei's lips parted as her breath caught in her throat.

Minako ran her hand over Rei's before slipping her fingers through the priestess' and intertwining their fingers together. Rei watched as her own closed around Minako's, her body acting to it's own accord. She turned her head and the idol's eyes crashed into her.

"Minako..." Their grip tightened on each other, and Minako's thumb gently caressed Rei's.

"So...Do you still think palm reading is a hoax?" Rei blushed and turned her eyes back down to their hands. She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth every few seconds. Finally, she found her voice.

"I-"

"Hino-san!" came a voice from the other side of the door. Rei jumped up, she and Minako's contact broken.

"Hino-san! Dinner's about ready! Hino-san!"

Rei whispered curses to herself and hurriedly rushed to the door. She flung it open and saw Yuuichiro standing there, apron tied around his waist and that goofy grin plastered on his stubbly face.

"What?!" He didn't even so much as wince at the priestess' tone of voice, or even seem to notice Minako fiercely glaring at him from behind the table.

"Dinner's ready. I assumed Aino-san would be eating with us, so I fixed a place for her next to you. Since we haven't seen each other in a while, I wasn't completely sure if your eating habits changed or not. From what I vaguely remember, you could eat a whole lot, so I made various different sorts of food. Oh! And I remember how you _especially_ liked vegetables, so I fried up several different kinds of them. Is asparagus still your favorite?"

Rei furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "I hate asparagus."

Yuuichiro's energetic smile vanished into a sad frown.

"Darn... I made a lot. Maybe it was grandpa who liked asparagus..."

As Rei watched Yuuichiro's facial expression turn more and more pathetic with each passing second, she felt a small twinge of guilt. It was true he'd just interrupted a moment between she and Minako that part of her (Mars, perhaps?) had been waiting for, _and_ he'd also ruined a chance for the two of them to talk about Rei's recovered memories, and why ALL of them seemed to involve the former Venusian princess. However, it's not like he could have known. He barely _knew_ Rei for Kami-sama's sake. And come on! He thought she actually LIKED asparagus!

"_Although," _she thought to herself, _"he was right on target with grandfather. He loved that hellish vegetable."_

--

Minako blew air through her lips as she listened to her manager prattle on about how staying even a week longer than planned in Tokyo wouldn't, and couldn't possibly ever happen in this lifetime. They both knew that in the end Minako would win out though, but she allowed her manager to carry on and his little 'rant' about how her popularity would drop, record sales would fall, the apocalypse would come, this, that and the other thing... She heard him take a deep breath, and it notified her that he was finished.

"Ok, Minako-chan. You win. We can linger around Tokyo a bit longer if you'd like, but only for an extra two weeks. I can not, and absolutely _will_ not grant anymore time than that. Got it?"

"Hai, manager-san. Alright, I will. Wait, tomorrow morning? But-- _Ok_. Ja."

Minako slid her cell phone closed and sighed. Two weeks was nothing even NEAR to what she wanted as an extension on her 'vacation', but she would take what she could get. Even though her manager could break and give in to some demands, she was sure he would never grant her request to stay there an extra month or even three weeks more. That's when he'd lay down the authoritarian tone and ask her why she would be crazy enough to even ask such a thing and how her fans would feel. He knew _that's_ what would really get to her.

She felt the crisp spring wind blow through her chocolate locks, the setting sun showing the natural, dirty blonde streaks trying desperately to break through all the brown. The pop-idol looked towards the Hikawa Jinja, wondering how Rei would take the news. She hoped the woman would be pleased, but then again...

"_...You'll just have to put up with me for a month, and then I'll leave." Minako stated. Rei raised her eyebrow._

_"Promise?"_

_"I promise."_

But things had changed over the past week and a half. Besides the little arguments here and there-and the dream-memories- the atmosphere had lightened up significantly. And with the way things were progressing that day...

Minako pressed two fingers to her soft lips, the warmth from Rei's lingering still. She thought back to the many times in her youth when she'd simply stared at Rei's light crimson lips while they moved as she talked, and how she'd longed to taste them. And that afternoon, she finally had. Not fully, but it was a little preview, nonetheless. Minako didn't like to be teased and unable to retaliate. She _always_ got what she wanted, and the gods seemed to be teasing her by dangling Rei in front of her face while sending annoying little distractions to prevent her from seeing her goal through. One of the distractions was with the object of her affections at that very moment, actually...

But she would make sure he'd be moved out of the way soon. After all, Aino Minako always got what she wanted.

--

Rei glanced out of the window at Minako, watching as she idly messed with her nails out of what Rei assumed to be boredom. She hadn't said much as she passed Rei on the way out, only mentioning something about how she had to call her manager and let him know where she was at because he grew worried when she didn't drop him a call every hour or so. Rei rolled her eyes and looked down to the dish her hands were preoccupied with washing.

_"She's a grown woman now, but he still acts as if he's her babysitter. Hmm, speaking of guardians... I know Minako has parents, but why hasn't she ever mentioned them? I'm curious, but I won't bring it up just in case it's a sore subject for her. Kami-sama knows I'm not too chatty when it comes to the subject of _my_ parents."_

Without warning, her eyelids started to slowly slide closed. Her soapy hands lost hold of the dish, and it sank into the water to the bottom of the sink. She shook her head lazily, trying to get out of the dizzy stupor she was falling in to. But it was no use. Resilient dream-memories mixed with a total of four hours of sleep didn't exactly work to her advantage.

Minako stepped into the kitchen with Artemis in her arms, quickly scanning the room for Rei. She found her target at the sink, but her eyes widened as she watched the priestess slowly descend backwards onto the ground. She gasped.

"Rei!"

Yuuichiro shot his head up, and before Minako could even step forward, he sprinted and caught Rei right before she almost fell onto the hard wooden floor. Minako hastily put Artemis onto the ground and then ran the small distance over to the pair and kneeled down in front of Rei. Artemis made a small sound of concern as he hid discretely under the dining table to watch the scene unfold.

"Hino-san...Hino-san!" Yuuichiro called out, but there was no response. Rei hung limply in his arms, her head falling to the side. Her long hair fell over the side of her face, but Minako was quick to push it away. She lightly grasped the sides of Rei's face, her calm demeanor she'd adopted for these types of situations coming into play. She knew dream-memories had these types of side-effects and how excruciating the headaches that came along with them could be. At that moment, Rei was lapsing into the dream world. All that Minako and Yuuichiro would be able to do, was wait.

--

_Rei took a look down the long corridor that connected all of the young senshi's rooms together, her eyes scanning every dark corner she could manage to see. She was playing a game of hide-and-seek, but not willingly. Minako had told Rei to meet her at the goddess of love's room in a few minutes, since Luna and Artemis wanted a quick word with her. Rei hadn't replied; she'd simply grumbled and stormed off._

_The little 'meeting' between Minako and the two Lunar advisors ended earlier than Rei originally predicted it would, so when she heard Minako calling out her name from just a few paces behind her, she sprinted down the corridor to hide. She didn't want to be around the Venusian princess longer she had to be, and the last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a room with her...ALL NIGHT._

_"Mars?" Came Minako's high voice. Rei peeked her head out from behind the corner to see just how close the blonde really was, and to her horror, she was two arms lengths away. Rei pulled her head back quickly when Minako turned in her direction, praying that the girl hadn't caught sight of her. Minako's eyes widened and she tilted her head when she saw something move further into the darkness. She cursed herself for being short, or else she could've reached up and grabbed one of the candles hanging from the wall to illuminate the hallway better. She squinted her blue eyes and took a step forward, and Rei pushed herself further into the corner._

_Minako somehow was able to see familiar long, raven-colored hair disappear behind a bend and that's when she knew she'd found _her_. Wanting to fool Rei into thinking she'd won their little game, Minako sighed and strutted off into the other direction._

_When she was sure the blonde was gone, Rei slowly crept out of the corner. She looked to the right and then to the left, the hall seemingly completely empty besides herself. She let out a relieved sigh._

_As she began the walk back to her room, Minako glanced out from another corner. She waited for Rei to pass her, then she went into attack mode. Rei reached for the silver handle to her room, but paused when she felt a presence nearby._

_"Who's-" she was abruptly cut-off when Minako leapt onto her and tackled her to the ground. They rolled down the hallway in a mess of limbs, each girl grunting as they're bodies rapidly switched places and slammed onto the floor. In the end, Rei came out on top (literally) and glared down at the princess under her. She held Minako's arms at her sides, only partially surprised she hadn't put up much of a fight._

_"What are you doing?!" Rei growled. Minako smirked._

_"Catching you before you backed out of our plans."_

_Rei scoffed. "'Our' plans? I never agreed to this juvenile slumber party of yours. Besides, I'm busy."_

_She made a move to get off of Minako, but Minako grabbed the collar of her coat and pulled her back down. Startled by the close contact, Rei stared at the blonde as a small blush spread over her cheeks. She was grateful there was hardly any light._

_"We all _know_ you're not busy. Come on... It'd be a great way to get our friendship off to a running start." Minako flipped their positions with ease, now holding Rei's hands to her sides as she hovered above her. After about a minute of struggling, Rei gave up. She knew she could easily push Minako off if she wanted to, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do so._

_"I got you out of a harsh punishment from Luna and Artemis only minutes ago, so you owe me. You may not like it, but it's my duty as leader of the senshi to understand and get to know all of my comrades as best I can. Mercury and Jupiter don't seem to be too difficult to understand, but you..." Minako gazed into Rei's amethyst orbs, watching the gleam in them disappear then reappear every time she moved them._

_"You confuse me. You're different from everyone else here."_

_Rei furrowed her eyebrows. "What was my punishment for?"_

_Minako pulled back and pushed herself up. She stood up and helped Rei to her feet._

_"'Being disobedient and disagreeable'. The two of them seem to think that you're not fitting into the senshi as well as you should have. But I told them we all have issues... Even me. But only little ones, of course." Rei rolled her eyes at the arrogant girl before her and crossed her arms._

_"However, I assured them I'd take care of you. I told them about our sleepover tonight and they think it's a great idea, so... Now it's kind of an obligation for you to show up." Rei's eyes shot completely open and her jaw dropped. Minako smiled innocently and put a hand on the fire senshi's shoulder._

_"I'm not so sure about the others, but... I see a lot of potential in you. The only thing you need to do is awaken that potential. It just so happens that I've been chosen to help you do that. We'll begin working on your people skills at tomorrow's masquerade since that seems to be your biggest flaw." Rei shrugged the Venusian's hand off and shook her head in disbelief._

_"I can't believe this. You did this on purpose!" she spat angrily._

_"You _are_ disagreeable. Let's get a move on!" She grabbed Rei's hand and began pulling her along to her room. When Rei loosened her grip, Minako would just tighten her own. And then, Rei opted to drag her feet and slow Minako down quite a bit. But Minako was just as strong-willed and as stubborn as Rei. She took hold of Rei's other flailing hand and continued on with their short journey, this time walking backwards to face Rei. Eventually Rei fell onto her butt, but Minako didn't care. She drug the Martian all the way to her room, regardless of the kicks and threats being exchanged between the two. Saying it was 'going to be a long night' was an understatement._


End file.
